Legal & General Group Plc Raises Stake in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its KKR stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 80,352 shares and lifting its holding to 4,722,357 shares valued at about $602 million.
• KKR director Timothy R. Barakett bought 50,000 shares at $94.47 each, a transaction worth about $4.72 million, boosting his direct ownership by 21.28%.
• KKR’s board authorized a $500 million share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.195 per share, while analysts currently have a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $134.53.

Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,722,357 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 80,352 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.53% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $602,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 5,562 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 76.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KKR & Co. Inc.

In related news, Director Timothy R. Barakett purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $94.47 per share, for a total transaction of $4,723,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 285,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,923,950. This represents 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KKR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lowered 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.53.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of KKR opened at $94.02 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $95.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.75. KKR & Co. Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.67 and a twelve month high of $153.87. The stock has a market cap of $84.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the asset manager to purchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. 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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