Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Grows Stake in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,986 shares during the period. KKR & Co. Inc. accounts for approximately 1.0% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $5,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KKR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 821,739 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 6.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,507,741 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,804,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261,314 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,995,742 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,903,220,000 after acquiring an additional 146,285 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,715,929,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 67,441 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE KKR opened at $97.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.95. The company has a market capitalization of $87.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.67 and a 1 year high of $153.87.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.42% and a net margin of 13.94%. On average, equities research analysts predict that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.195 dividend. This is a boost from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.53%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on KKR shares. Zacks Research raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $187.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $120.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.58.

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.