KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR Shares Bought by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its KKR stake by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 91,048 more shares and lifting its holding to 1,521,260 shares worth about $193.9 million.
• Other large investors also added to KKR, including Vanguard and Geode, and institutional ownership remains high at 76.26% of the company’s stock.
• KKR has seen mixed analyst sentiment, but the consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $134.53; the company also authorized a $500 million share buyback and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.195 per share.

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,521,260 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 91,048 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.17% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $193,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,064,587 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $7,657,034,000 after buying an additional 821,739 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,995,742 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,903,220,000 after purchasing an additional 146,285 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,722,357 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $602,006,000 after purchasing an additional 80,352 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $535,907,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $352,038,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KKR & Co. Inc. news, Director Timothy R. Barakett acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $94.47 per share, with a total value of $4,723,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 285,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,923,950. The trade was a 21.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 23.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KKR. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research lowered KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.53.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of KKR stock opened at $96.00 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $96.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.12. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.67 and a 1-year high of $153.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.42% and a net margin of 13.94%.The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the asset manager to buy up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.195 per share. This is a boost from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. Company Profile

KKR & Co Inc is a global investment firm headquartered in New York City that specializes in private markets and alternative asset management. Founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg Jr., Henry Kravis and George R. Roberts, the firm built its reputation in leveraged buyouts and has since expanded into a multi-strategy asset manager. KKR operates across private equity, credit, real assets (including real estate and infrastructure), growth equity and hedge fund strategies, offering a range of investment products and strategies for institutional and private investors.

KKR manages capital through traditional closed-end funds as well as customized vehicles such as separate accounts, co-investments, and listed investment vehicles.

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