Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in KKR by 4.2% in Q4 to 18,246,427 shares, leaving KKR as about 1.2% of Principal’s portfolio and representing roughly $2.33 billion of its holdings.
• Company insiders have been buyers recently: Director Timothy Barakett and CEO Scott Nuttall bought shares, and insiders acquired about 393,872 shares (~$40.1 million) in the past three months, with insiders now owning 23.20% of KKR.
• Several analysts trimmed price targets (e.g., Goldman Sachs to $110), but the stock retains a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $137.20.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,246,427 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 803,377 shares during the period. KKR & Co. Inc. makes up about 1.2% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 2.05% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $2,326,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 2,150.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 225 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 76.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KKR has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy R. Barakett purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired 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 $26,923,950. This trade represents a 21.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott C. Nuttall purchased 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $102.66 per share, with a total value of $12,832,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,503,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,614,769.68. This trade represents a 0.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 393,872 shares of company stock valued at $40,090,679. Company insiders own 23.20% of the company's stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of KKR stock opened at $103.44 on Tuesday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.67 and a 12 month high of $153.87. The stock has a market cap of $92.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.13.

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. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 5.57%. On average, research analysts expect that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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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