Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys 11,457 Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 323.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,457 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $1,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 152,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,483,000 after buying an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $829,000. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden raised its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 637,751 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $81,300,000 after buying an additional 161,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 40,497 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,163,000 after buying an additional 1,514 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. stock opened at $94.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.08. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.67 and a 12-month high of $153.87.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 5.42%. Research analysts expect that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.195 per share. This is an increase from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 26.53%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KKR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy R. Barakett acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $94.47 per share, for a total transaction of $4,723,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 285,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,923,950. The trade was a 21.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 23.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.