Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Sold by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp lessened its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,178 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 0.10% of Kadant worth $3,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KAI. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the third quarter valued at about $110,849,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Kadant by 1,578.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 74,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,795,000 after buying an additional 69,766 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 137.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,028,000 after acquiring an additional 47,618 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at $6,917,000. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 50.1% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 57,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,868,000 after acquiring an additional 19,047 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Trading Up 0.9 %

Kadant stock traded up $2.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $271.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,174. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $295.20 and its 200 day moving average is $287.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.05. Kadant Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.99 and a 1-year high of $354.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03 and a beta of 1.30.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.42. Kadant had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.01 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,514,853.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total transaction of $288,087.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,514,853.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KAI. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday, April 29th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th.

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.