Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Position in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) by 358.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 20,885 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $3,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KKR. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,974 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Dudley Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. FWG Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.6% in the third quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 5,096 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,886 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KKR has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $163.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.07.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KKR opened at $157.58 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $152.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.43. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.89 and a 1 year high of $163.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. KKR & Co. Inc.’s payout ratio is 21.28%.

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.