HSBC Downgrades KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) to Hold

HSBC lowered shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. HSBC currently has $142.00 price target on the asset manager's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on KKR. Barclays upped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $129.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $183.00 to $126.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $136.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $152.27.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:KKR traded up $4.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $143.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,903,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,229,044. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.15 and a 1-year high of $170.40. The business's 50 day moving average price is $124.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.72. The firm has a market cap of $127.76 billion, a PE ratio of 60.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.88.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 6.43% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 67.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Research analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous dividend of $0.17. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

Insider Activity

In other KKR & Co. Inc. news, Director Timothy R. Barakett acquired 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $117.92 per share, for a total transaction of $4,127,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 185,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,815,200. The trade was a 23.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Henry R. Kravis sold 130,925 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.67, for a total value of $15,929,644.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 73,006,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,882,642,696.74. The trade was a 0.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,471,488 shares of company stock valued at $501,529,092 in the last quarter. Insiders own 39.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR & Co. Inc.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,029,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,199,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,922 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 114,184 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $16,889,000 after purchasing an additional 38,524 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Alpha Investments LLC acquired a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $423,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.26% of the company's stock.

About KKR & Co. Inc.

KKR & Co, Inc operates as an investment firm. It offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. The firm's business segments include Asset Management and Insurance Business. The Asset Management segment engages in providing private equity, real assets, credit and liquid strategies, capital markets, and principal activities.