Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 1,261,314 Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,507,741 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,261,314 shares during the period. KKR & Co. Inc. makes up approximately 1.0% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 2.19% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $1,804,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,064,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,657,034,000 after acquiring an additional 821,739 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% in the 4th 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 bought a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,715,929,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,602,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $714,195,000 after purchasing an additional 23,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.26% of the company’s stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE KKR opened at $97.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.18. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter. The company 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. 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. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the asset manager to repurchase 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 Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Zacks Research upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.58.

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.