Morningstar Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Morningstar Investment Management LLC cut its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 73.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,347 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 45,920 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $2,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KKR. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 109.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,661 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 13.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. United Bank purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the second quarter valued at $769,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the second quarter valued at $4,826,000. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

KKR & Co. Inc. stock opened at $94.02 on Tuesday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.67 and a 52 week high of $153.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $84.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 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, research analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the asset manager to reacquire up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.195 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.53%.

Insider Transactions at KKR & Co. Inc.

In other news, Director Timothy R. Barakett purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $94.47 per share, with a total value of $4,723,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 285,000 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 23.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on KKR. HSBC upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings cut KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.