Fmr LLC Sells 83,522 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

FMR LLC cut its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,050,835 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 83,522 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 1.83% of Kirby worth $111,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of Kirby stock traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.18. The company had a trading volume of 757,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 545,198. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $83.94 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $99.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.51. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st.

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.