Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 266,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 29,672 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.27% of Kadant worth $90,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DF Dent & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 64.1% during the third quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 83,163 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,109,000 after purchasing an additional 32,491 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Kadant by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 280,797 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,909,000 after buying an additional 6,412 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Kadant by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 130,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,036,000 after buying an additional 2,068 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kadant by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the third quarter worth $11,345,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Kadant news, Director Rebecca Martinez O'mara sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total value of $117,777.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $507,618.87. This represents a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $674,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,433,950. This trade represents a 32.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI stock traded down $4.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $347.07. The stock had a trading volume of 200,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,102. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 35.52 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $371.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $332.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Kadant Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.51 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.10%.

Kadant Company 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.