American Century Companies Inc. Buys 24,791 Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. $KRT

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its ownership in Karat Packaging Inc. by 13.2%, acquiring an additional 24,791 shares, bringing its total to 212,340 shares valued at $5.64 million.
• Karat Packaging declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, providing an annualized yield of 7.0%, although the payout ratio is currently high at 113.21%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Karat Packaging, with the current consensus being a "Hold" and an average price target of $31.67.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 212,340 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,791 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.06% of Karat Packaging worth $5,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KRT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 145,946 shares of the company's stock worth $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 12,676 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 11.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 89,028 shares of the company's stock worth $2,366,000 after acquiring an additional 9,383 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 108.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 84,038 shares of the company's stock worth $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 43,740 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 65,677 shares of the company's stock worth $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 58,461 shares of the company's stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 4,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Karat Packaging from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Karat Packaging from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.67.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

KRT stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.01. The stock had a trading volume of 63,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,529. The stock has a market capitalization of $502.45 million, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.88. Karat Packaging Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.00 and a fifty-two week high of $33.89.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. Karat Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Karat Packaging news, CEO Alan Yu sold 112,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $3,037,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,091,305 shares in the company, valued at $164,465,235. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 66.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Karat Packaging Profile

Karat Packaging Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of single-use disposable products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and other compostable forms used in various restaurant and foodservice settings. It provides food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves, and other products under the Karat Earth brand.