Norges Bank Makes New Investment in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,460,378 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,929,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.51% of KKR & Co. Inc. at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $535,907,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $352,038,000. Close Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings 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 valued at $196,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479,688 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $7,657,034,000 after acquiring an additional 821,739 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $91,599,000 after acquiring an additional 700,933 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KKR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $187.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.53.

Insider Transactions at KKR & Co. Inc.

In other news, Director Timothy R. Barakett acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $94.47 per share, with a total value of $4,723,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 285,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,923,950. This represents a 21.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 23.20% of the company’s stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of KKR opened at $96.00 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.12. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.67 and a 1 year high of $153.87.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 5.42%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.53%.

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

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.