Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 1,082 Shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,134 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in KBR were worth $1,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KBR. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in KBR by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 531 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of KBR by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KBR in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in KBR by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 12,653 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A boosted its position in KBR by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KBR shares. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KBR has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.88.

Insider Transactions at KBR

In other news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $961,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 63,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,214,134.47. The trade was a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

KBR Trading Down 7.3 %

NYSE KBR opened at $47.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $51.51 and its 200 day moving average is $58.79. KBR, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.16 and a twelve month high of $72.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. KBR had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Research analysts forecast that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.57%.

KBR Profile

KBR, Inc provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.