Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Buys Shares of 9,638 Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Kadant as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the third quarter worth $110,849,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Kadant by 137.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,028,000 after purchasing an additional 47,618 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Kadant by 17.5% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 154,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,792,000 after buying an additional 22,978 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 50.1% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 57,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,868,000 after buying an additional 19,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,000,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Monday, April 29th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Tuesday, April 30th.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI traded up $5.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $272.46. 100,195 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,557. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $307.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.83. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.95 and a 1 year high of $354.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.56 million. Kadant had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 13.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total value of $228,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 881 shares in the company, valued at $288,087. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kadant news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total transaction of $228,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $288,087. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kadant Company 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.