Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires New Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 9,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 58,584 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Kadant by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Kadant news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on KAI. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, April 29th.

Kadant Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Kadant stock traded up $5.60 on Friday, reaching $272.46. The company had a trading volume of 100,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 95,557. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $307.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.05. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.95 and a 52-week high of $354.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38 and a beta of 1.30.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.42. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $248.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.33%.

Kadant Profile

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning shower and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems.