F M Investments LLC Sells 25,031 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

F M Investments LLC lowered its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 67.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,243 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,031 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Kadant worth $4,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 243,267 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $193,595,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Kadant by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 280,797 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $94,909,000 after purchasing an additional 6,412 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,529,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 121,686 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,980,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Kadant Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE KAI traded down $8.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $310.17. The stock had a trading volume of 19,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,052. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $351.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $358.83. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72 and a beta of 1.24. 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 1 year low of $249.51 and a 1 year high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant's payout ratio is presently 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.