Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stake in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 74.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,116,042 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 477,479 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $103,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KKR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,715,929,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $535,907,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $352,038,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,216,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 4,155.1% during the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,515,299 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $196,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479,688 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Down 2.4%

KKR stock opened at $91.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $81.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.87. KKR & Co. Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.67 and a twelve month high of $153.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last announced 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 during the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.53.

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.