Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 17,305 call options on the company. This is an increase of 138% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,281 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KKR has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $123.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Kkr Group Partnership L.P. bought 11,619,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.13 per share, for a total transaction of $129,330,577.74. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 92,959,984 shares in the company, valued at $1,034,644,621.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 39.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 622.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 253 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 371.4% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank grew its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 202.6% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 351 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. 76.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

KKR opened at $126.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.62. KKR & Co. Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.72 and a twelve month high of $128.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 5.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. KKR & Co. Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.70%.

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.