Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 109,209 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,457 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $9,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 6.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,507,741 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,804,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,314 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% in the 4th 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,715,929,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 8,597,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,095,951,000 after acquiring an additional 67,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,602,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $714,195,000 after acquiring an additional 23,483 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about KKR & Co. Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting KKR & Co. Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong analyst price-target increase: Oppenheimer raised its KKR price target from $139 to $166 and reiterated an “outperform” rating, implying substantial upside from recent levels. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion in private aviation infrastructure: Apollo-managed funds acquired a significant interest in Atlantic Aviation, while KKR-managed funds remain a substantial shareholder. The partnership could support Atlantic Aviation’s growth and preserve KKR’s exposure to a potentially attractive infrastructure platform. Apollo Funds and KKR Announce Strategic Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: New infrastructure investment: KKR and Apollo are partnering with Enbridge on approximately C$2.7 billion of expansions to the Westcoast natural-gas pipeline system in British Columbia, expanding KKR’s exposure to energy infrastructure and long-term contracted assets. Enbridge, KKR form joint venture
• Positive Sentiment: AI data-center exposure: KKR is investing in SK Telecom’s newly launched SK Horizon, an AI data-center infrastructure company. The deal gives KKR participation in the expanding demand for data-center capacity and digital infrastructure. SK Horizon investment announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Antitrust case resolution: KKR agreed to a stipulation and order with the U.S. Department of Justice, potentially removing some uncertainty, although the settlement also highlights ongoing regulatory and legal risks. KKR reaches settlement in DOJ antitrust case
• Neutral Sentiment: Fixed-income appeal: An analysis described KKR’s “baby bonds” as offering potential capital appreciation, but this is an investment view on the company’s debt securities rather than a direct earnings catalyst for common stock. KKR baby bonds analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Reported fraud investigation: A law firm is seeking KKR investors to participate in a fraud investigation, creating potential litigation, reputational, and financial risks. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but it may weigh on sentiment. KKR investor fraud investigation notice

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KKR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KKR & Co. Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.00.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

KKR stock opened at $108.74 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $101.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.78. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.67 and a 1 year high of $152.10.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The asset manager reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.88% and a net margin of 14.41%.The business had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the asset manager to repurchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 24.84%.

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.