Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Purchases 5,804 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,659 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 5,804 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Kirby worth $3,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KEX. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $204,154,000 after purchasing an additional 12,337 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kirby by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $117,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Kirby by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $85,585,000 after acquiring an additional 152,146 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Kirby by 68.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 477,233 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $58,428,000 after acquiring an additional 194,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $40,504,000 after buying an additional 202,272 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX traded down $3.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $102.68. The stock had a trading volume of 647,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 671,109. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $107.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $85.40 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.25.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.