Raymond James & Associates Decreases Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,876 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,241 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.69% of Kadant worth $27,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 661,286 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $185,365,000 after buying an additional 2,885 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,268,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares during the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 9,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Kadant by 21.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,968 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,958,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $674,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,433,950. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kadant Stock Performance

Kadant stock traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $316.45. The stock had a trading volume of 33,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,216. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.21 and a 52-week high of $363.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's fifty day moving average is $321.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $304.60.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.38. Kadant had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The firm had revenue of $275.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Kadant 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.