FIL Ltd Trims Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

FIL Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 40.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 490,600 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 333,700 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned 0.85% of Kirby worth $51,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,762,651 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $186,488,000 after buying an additional 28,259 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Kirby by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $204,154,000 after purchasing an additional 12,337 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $117,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $74,293,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kirby by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 525,708 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $55,620,000 after purchasing an additional 48,475 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Kirby Stock Performance

KEX traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.14. 66,750 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 642,860. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $83.94 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $100.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.11.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

About Kirby

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.