HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in KB Financial Group Inc $KB

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in KB Financial Group Inc by 69.7%, now owning only 4,972 shares worth $269,000 after selling 11,429 shares in the first quarter.
• Other investors, including Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC and Tower Research Capital LLC, significantly increased their stakes in KB Financial Group, indicating varied investor confidence.
• KB Financial Group's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $3.16, slightly beating estimates, along with an announced quarterly dividend of $0.657, yielding 3.4% annually.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of KB Financial Group Inc (NYSE:KB - Free Report) by 69.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,972 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,429 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in KB Financial Group were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in KB Financial Group by 141.8% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 926 shares of the bank's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in KB Financial Group by 659.4% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,415 shares of the bank's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 2,097 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in KB Financial Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,759 shares of the bank's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in KB Financial Group during the first quarter worth $214,000. Finally, JBF Capital Inc. acquired a new position in KB Financial Group during the first quarter worth $271,000. 11.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KB Financial Group Price Performance

KB stock opened at $78.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a PE ratio of 7.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.07. KB Financial Group Inc has a 12-month low of $46.38 and a 12-month high of $92.39. The business's fifty day moving average price is $81.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.30.

KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The bank reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. KB Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 16.16%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KB Financial Group Inc will post 8.87 EPS for the current year.

KB Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.657 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. KB Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered KB Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy".

KB Financial Group Profile

KB Financial Group Inc provides a range of banking and related financial services to consumers and corporations in South Korea, the United States, New Zealand, China, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and internationally. The company operates through Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Other Banking Services, Credit Card, Securities, Life Insurance, and Non-Life Insurance segments.

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