Czech National Bank Raises Stock Position in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 180,977 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,740 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $23,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,242,848 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,698,608,000 after acquiring an additional 585,893 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,530,419,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 5,221,769 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $694,652,000 after buying an additional 457,998 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,642,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $603,229,000 after buying an additional 65,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the third quarter worth $535,907,000. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KKR & Co. Inc. News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting KKR & Co. Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KKR agreed to sell CoolIT Systems to Ecolab for $4.75 billion, a large realization that KKR says will generate roughly 15x the original equity invested — a material cash return that supports realized gains and potential distributable value. CoolIT Employees Share in $4.75 Billion Transaction as KKR Agrees to Sell to Ecolab
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage notes the CoolIT sale will deliver meaningful employee payouts (average reported ~$240k per employee) and highlights the size and success of the exit — a credibility boost for KKR’s deal sourcing and value-creation track record. KKR Scores One of Its Best Bets With Sale of Data-Center Cooling Business
• Positive Sentiment: WSJ reports KKR is acquiring Nothing Bundt Cakes for >$2 billion (including debt) — another sizable platform investment that signals continued deal flow and fee-generating opportunities in consumer franchising. KKR Strikes Deal for Nothing Bundt Cakes
• Neutral Sentiment: German satellite maker OHB is exploring a share sale that could allow KKR to trim its stake — potential liquidity for KKR but also a reduction in exposure to that asset. KKR-backed OHB taps banks for share sale, Bloomberg News reports
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO trimmed its price target for KKR from $125 to $106 but kept an “outperform” rating — a modest signal that near-term expectations are being dialed back even as the long-run view remains constructive. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s downgraded a private credit fund run by KKR and Future Standard (FS KKR Capital Corp) into junk territory (Ba1) citing rising bad loans and weak earnings — a reputational and credit-quality headwind for KKR’s private credit franchise. Moody’s cuts rating on private credit fund run by KKR and Future Standard to junk as bad loans grow
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest in KKR rose materially in March (shorts up ~23% to ~10.9M shares), which can amplify downward price pressure and volatility as bearish positioning increases.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz law firm issued an investor alert investigating potential claims against KKR — litigation risk that can weigh on sentiment until resolved. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz-Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of KKR & Co. Inc.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KKR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. HSBC raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $168.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KKR & Co. Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.00.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. stock opened at $88.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $79.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a current ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $102.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.16. KKR & Co. Inc. has a one year low of $82.67 and a one year high of $153.87.

KKR & Co. Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.62%.

Insider Activity

In other KKR & Co. Inc. news, CEO Scott C. Nuttall bought 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $102.66 per share, for a total transaction of $12,832,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,503,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,614,769.68. This represents a 0.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph Y. Bae bought 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $102.19 per share, for a total transaction of $12,773,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 509,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,040,972.83. The trade was a 32.53% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 393,872 shares of company stock worth $40,090,679 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 23.20% of the company’s stock.

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.