Vertex Planning Partners LLC Makes New Investment in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,028 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dudley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dudley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,489 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 19,311 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,477 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in KKR & Co. Inc. by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KKR. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $149.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $166.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Kkr Group Partnership L.P. bought 11,619,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.13 per share, with a total value of $129,330,577.74. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 92,959,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,034,644,621.92. The trade was a 14.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Genetic Disorder L.P. Kkr sold 5,800,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.75, for a total transaction of $149,350,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,260,971 shares in the company, valued at $650,470,003.25. This trade represents a 18.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 39.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Performance

KKR & Co. Inc. stock opened at $152.46 on Tuesday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.75 and a 52-week high of $156.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $136.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.61.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The asset manager reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.77%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. KKR & Co. Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

About KKR & Co. Inc.

KKR & Co Inc is a private equity and real estate investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. It specializes in acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, credit special situations, growth equity, mature, mezzanine, distressed, turnaround, lower middle market and middle market investments.