Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 35,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,238,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KKR. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. SouthState Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 185.0% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 228 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of KKR opened at $90.20 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.42 and a 200 day moving average of $105.50. KKR & Co. Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.67 and a fifty-two week high of $153.87. The firm has a market cap of $80.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter. The business 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the asset manager to purchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This is an increase from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KKR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.53.

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.