Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Sold by Riverbridge Partners LLC

Riverbridge Partners LLC lowered its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 272,131 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,917 shares during the quarter. Kadant accounts for about 1.3% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned 2.32% of Kadant worth $93,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in Kadant by 68.6% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research increased their price objective on Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Kadant Stock Down 0.5 %

KAI stock opened at $374.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 38.38 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $375.17 and a 200-day moving average of $344.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. Kadant Inc. has a one year low of $249.51 and a one year high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total transaction of $117,777.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $507,618.87. This trade represents a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at $570,848.25. This represents a 29.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,052 shares of company stock worth $416,655 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Kadant

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.