Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Kadant were worth $1,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $420,292,000 after buying an additional 243,267 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $193,595,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Kadant by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 280,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,909,000 after acquiring an additional 6,412 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter worth $46,529,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 121,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,980,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Kadant Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Kadant stock opened at $317.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.51 and a twelve month high of $429.95. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $353.20 and its 200 day moving average is $359.23.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. Research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.