Geode Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,967 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,019 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.27% of Kadant worth $91,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at $644,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the third quarter valued at $317,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 120.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 280,797 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,909,000 after purchasing an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at about $444,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Kadant Stock Down 2.8 %

Kadant stock traded down $8.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $310.15. 11,794 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 105,023. Kadant Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.51 and a 12 month high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.65 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $351.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $358.83.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is an increase from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 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.