Verition Fund Management LLC Invests $1.12 Million in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT)

Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 43,066 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,117,000. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Kennametal at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Kennametal by 198.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Kennametal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kennametal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Kennametal by 98.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Kennametal by 46.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter.

Kennametal Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of KMT traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 843,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,160. Kennametal Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.50 and a 1-year high of $32.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $481.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $485.26 million. Kennametal had a net margin of 4.98% and a return on equity of 8.35%. Kennametal's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Kennametal's payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Kennametal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Kennametal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Kennametal from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $578,072.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 39,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,117,767.44. This represents a 34.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,765 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $51,802.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,642 shares in the company, valued at $48,192.70. The trade was a 51.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Kennametal Company Profile

Kennametal Inc engages in development and application of tungsten carbides, ceramics, and super-hard materials and solutions for use in metal cutting and extreme wear applications to enable customers work against corrosion and high temperatures conditions worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Metal Cutting and Infrastructure.