Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 52.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,796 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 71,150 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.11% of Kirby worth $6,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of Kirby by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 71,811 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $7,598,000 after purchasing an additional 23,118 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,054 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 2,149 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at about $349,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,100 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kirby Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of KEX stock traded down $3.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $89.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,175,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,957. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $85.33 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $102.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.96.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Kirby Company Profile

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.