Brown Advisory Inc. Cuts Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 264,859 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 45,459 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 2.26% of Kadant worth $91,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KAI. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Kadant by 267.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth approximately $160,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Stock Performance

KAI stock traded up $3.08 on Friday, hitting $303.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 221,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,521. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.05 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $324.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $266.23 and a 1 year high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on KAI shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson cut their target price on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

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.