Swedbank AB Cuts Holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Swedbank AB reduced its position in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 18.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,064 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 17,374 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $7,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,064,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,657,034,000 after purchasing an additional 821,739 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,995,742 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,903,220,000 after buying an additional 146,285 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,715,929,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its position in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 8,597,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,095,951,000 after acquiring an additional 67,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,602,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $714,195,000 after acquiring an additional 23,483 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE KKR traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,839,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,302,104. KKR & Co. Inc. has a one year low of $82.67 and a one year high of $153.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 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 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 firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. 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 firm also recently announced 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 was Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s payout ratio is 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the asset manager to purchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KKR shares. Zacks Research upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $187.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

KKR & Co. Inc. Company 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.