Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 43.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 18,662 shares valued at about $2.38 million.
• KKR continues to draw heavy institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 76.26% of the company; several firms, including Vanguard, also increased their holdings.
• KKR boosted shareholder returns by raising its quarterly dividend to $0.195 per share and authorizing a $500 million stock buyback plan, while insiders including CEOs Joseph Y. Bae and Scott C. Nuttall bought shares earlier this year.

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 43.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,662 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 14,468 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $2,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KKR. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $535,907,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $352,038,000. Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $196,845,000 after buying an additional 1,479,688 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $7,657,034,000 after buying an additional 821,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $91,599,000 after buying an additional 700,933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in a report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $102.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.67.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KKR opened at $99.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.67 and a 1-year high of $153.87. The company has a market capitalization of $88.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.85. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $94.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.43.

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 for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 5.50%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. Research analysts expect that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.195 per share. This is an increase from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. KKR & Co. Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 25.17%.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joseph Y. Bae purchased 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $102.19 per share, with a total value of $12,773,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 509,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,040,972.83. This trade represents a 32.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott C. Nuttall acquired 125,000 shares of KKR & Co. Inc. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $102.66 per share, for a total transaction of $12,832,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,503,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,614,769.68. The trade was a 0.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 343,872 shares of company stock worth $34,844,179 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 23.20% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KKR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.