Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 32,524 Shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 442,883 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,524 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 3.76% of Kadant worth $149,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kadant in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 267.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 348.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Kadant during the 1st quarter valued at $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Kadant Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:KAI traded up $5.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $309.40. 114,787 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 115,256. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.85 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $311.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.24. Kadant Inc has a one year low of $279.64 and a one year high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 13.74%. The company had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's payout ratio is 14.44%.

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.