Riverbridge Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Riverbridge Partners LLC cut its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 272,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 20,917 shares during the period. Kadant makes up about 1.3% of Riverbridge Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned approximately 2.32% of Kadant worth $93,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 87.1% in 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. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in Kadant by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,239 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $160,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,848.25. The trade was a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total value of $60,527.92. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $416,655 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kadant Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:KAI traded up $2.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $377.53. The company had a trading volume of 60,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,460. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $374.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $344.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64 and a beta of 1.28. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.51 and a 12-month high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.