Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Nomura Asset Management trimmed its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 21,481 shares and ending with 426,149 shares valued at about $54.3 million.
• Other major institutional investors were largely still buying or adding exposure, including Vanguard, Geode Capital, and Norges Bank, with institutions owning 76.26% of KKR’s stock overall.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive despite some price-target cuts: KKR has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average target of $134.53, while the stock recently traded around $96.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 426,149 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 21,481 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $54,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $7,657,034,000 after buying an additional 821,739 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% during 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 buying an additional 146,285 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $1,715,929,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.7% during 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 buying an additional 80,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. during the third quarter valued at $535,907,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KKR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings cut KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KKR & Co. Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.53.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

KKR stock opened at $96.00 on Monday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.67 and a 1-year high of $153.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.80.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.195 dividend. This is an increase 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 was Friday, May 15th. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the asset manager to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at KKR & Co. Inc.

In other news, Director Timothy R. Barakett acquired 50,000 shares of KKR & Co. Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $94.47 per share, for a total transaction of $4,723,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 285,000 shares in the company, valued at $26,923,950. The trade was a 21.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 23.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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