Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 14,468 Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 43.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,662 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 14,468 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $2,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $7,657,034,000 after acquiring an additional 821,739 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,642,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $603,229,000 after acquiring an additional 65,695 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $535,907,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the third quarter worth $352,038,000. Finally, CI Investments Inc. raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 11.5% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 1,745,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $226,808,000 after purchasing an additional 179,793 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

KKR & Co. Inc. stock opened at $99.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $88.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.72 and its 200 day moving average is $111.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.67 and a 52-week high of $153.87.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 5.50%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 buy up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott C. Nuttall acquired 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $102.66 per share, for a total transaction of $12,832,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,503,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,614,769.68. The trade was a 0.81% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph Y. Bae acquired 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $102.19 per share, for a total transaction of $12,773,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 509,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,040,972.83. The trade was a 32.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 343,872 shares of company stock worth $34,844,179. 23.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KKR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.67.

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.