EULAV Asset Management Increases Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

EULAV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management owned 0.28% of Kadant worth $11,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 764 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $38,560,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Kadant by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Kadant by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Kadant by 87.1% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research lifted their target price on Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rebecca Martinez O'mara sold 300 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total value of $117,777.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,293 shares in the company, valued at $507,618.87. The trade was a 18.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total value of $60,527.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,692,392.50. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $416,655 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of Kadant stock traded down $6.00 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $358.35. 102,252 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 90,555. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.51 and a 52-week high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.68 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $365.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $348.63.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. On average, research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Kadant's payout ratio is 13.10%.

About Kadant

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.