KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its stake in KKR by 2% in Q4, selling 41,066 shares and leaving it with 1,978,888 shares valued at about $252.27 million (roughly 0.22% ownership).
• Corporate insiders bought aggressively: CEO Joseph Y. Bae purchased 125,000 shares and director Matt Cohler 43,872, with insiders acquiring a total of 393,872 shares (~$40.09 million) last quarter and now owning 23.20% of the company.
• Analyst views are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $137.20 target, while KKR trades near $100.66 (market cap ~$89.7B, P/E ~42.9), implying potential upside despite recent price-target cuts and upgrades.

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its position in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,978,888 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 41,066 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.22% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $252,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KKR. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the third quarter valued at $535,907,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the third quarter valued at $352,038,000. Close Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 4,155.1% in the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,515,299 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $196,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479,688 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,064,587 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,657,034,000 after purchasing an additional 821,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 3,981.9% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 718,536 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $91,599,000 after purchasing an additional 700,933 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on KKR shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Zacks Research lowered KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. HSBC raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $187.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.20.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:KKR opened at $100.66 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $94.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.67 and a 12-month high of $153.87. The firm has a market cap of $89.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.88, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.93.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 11.97%.The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KKR & Co. Inc. news, Director Matt Cohler purchased 43,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $102.90 per share, with a total value of $4,514,428.80. Following the purchase, the director owned 45,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,679,583.30. This represents a 2,733.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joseph Y. Bae purchased 125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $102.19 per share, for a total transaction of $12,773,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 509,257 shares in the company, valued at $52,040,972.83. The trade was a 32.53% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought a total of 393,872 shares of company stock valued at $40,090,679 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 23.20% of the company's stock.

About KKR & Co. Inc.

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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