Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,995,742 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 146,285 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $1,903,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KKR. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $535,907,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $352,038,000. Close Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 4,155.1% in the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,515,299 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $196,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479,688 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,064,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,657,034,000 after purchasing an additional 821,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 3,981.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 718,536 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $91,599,000 after purchasing an additional 700,933 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at KKR & Co. Inc.

In other KKR & Co. Inc. news, Director Timothy R. Barakett purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.47 per share, for a total transaction of $4,723,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 285,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,923,950. This represents a 21.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 23.20% of the company’s stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of KKR stock opened at $94.01 on Friday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.67 and a 52-week high of $153.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.21.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.42% and a net margin of 13.94%.The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts predict that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the asset manager to buy up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.195 dividend. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a boost from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on KKR. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research lowered KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective 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 given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.53.

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.