Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 206,248 KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 206,248 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $26,292,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 5,562 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KKR shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer reduced 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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 issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy R. Barakett acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $94.47 per share, for a total transaction of $4,723,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 285,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,923,950. This trade represents a 21.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 23.20% of the company’s stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE KKR opened at $95.04 on Tuesday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a one year low of $82.67 and a one year high of $153.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $96.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.86. 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 $85.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85.

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

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 issued a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s payout ratio is 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the asset manager to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.