William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $69.61 Million in Kennametal Inc. $KMT

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management acquired 1.99 million Kennametal shares worth approximately $69.6 million, giving it a 2.61% stake. Several other institutional investors also increased their holdings.
• Kennametal exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.96 in EPS versus the $2.31 consensus and revenue of $736.6 million, up 42.6% year over year. The company also issued quarterly guidance and maintains a $0.20-per-share dividend.
• Insiders sold 47,000 shares worth about $1.58 million over the past 90 days, while analysts generally remain cautious: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $34.07.

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,986,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $69,614,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 2.61% of Kennametal at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Kennametal by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 4,578 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kennametal by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Kennametal by 13.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 240,556 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,124,000 after acquiring an additional 28,020 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Kennametal by 39.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 229,903 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,897,000 after acquiring an additional 64,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kennametal during the second quarter valued at approximately $585,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kennametal

In related news, Director Sagar A. Patel sold 29,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.50, for a total transaction of $988,216.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carlonda R. Reilly sold 12,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $397,870.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 25,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $832,736.16. This represents a 32.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 47,000 shares of company stock worth $1,583,326 over the last ninety days. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kennametal Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:KMT opened at $30.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.62. Kennametal Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.35 and a 52-week high of $43.81. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $33.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.36.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $736.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.74 million. Kennametal had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 24.83%. The business's revenue was up 42.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. Kennametal has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.500-2.800 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 4.150-5.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kennametal Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Kennametal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Kennametal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $47.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Kennametal from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Kennametal from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Kennametal from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $31.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Kennametal in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $34.07.

Kennametal Profile

Kennametal Inc is a global industrial technology company that designs and manufactures advanced materials, tooling systems, and engineered components for a range of demanding applications. Its solutions support precision metalworking, earthmoving, and wear-resistant environments, catering to customers seeking enhanced productivity, longer tool life, and reduced operating costs.

The company's product portfolio spans indexable cutting tools, solid round tools, tool holders, metalworking fluid systems, wear parts, ceramics and composites, and custom-engineered components.

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