KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $150.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous target price of $120.00.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $214.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $120.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, HSBC raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $170.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.14.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:KKR opened at $125.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a current ratio of 0.07. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.15 and a 1 year high of $170.40.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 14.31%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s revenue was down 67.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from KKR & Co. Inc.’s previous dividend of $0.17. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.22%.

Insider Activity at KKR & Co. Inc.

In related news, major shareholder Genetic Disorder L.P. Kkr sold 6,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total transaction of $197,760,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,260,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,841,604.16. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert W. Scully bought 13,250 shares of KKR & Co. Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $113.49 per share, for a total transaction of $1,503,742.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,742.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 39.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR & Co. Inc.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KKR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,435,314,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $844,137,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 4,918.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,393,841 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $507,972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,306,290 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,584,370 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $973,894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,581 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,575,631 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $528,989,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,505 shares during the period. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KKR & Co. Inc.

KKR & Co, Inc operates as an investment firm. It offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. The firm’s business segments include Asset Management and Insurance Business. The Asset Management segment engages in providing private equity, real assets, credit and liquid strategies, capital markets, and principal activities.