Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 640.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,888 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.08% of Kadant worth $2,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,332 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 0.3% during the third quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 30,657 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,915,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 14.8% during the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in Kadant during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kadant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $70,266.77. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kadant Trading Down 1.2 %

KAI stock traded down $3.61 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $285.89. The company had a trading volume of 66,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,355. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.19 and a 52 week high of $354.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $315.20 and a 200 day moving average of $280.63. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88 and a beta of 1.27.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $238.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.54 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 12.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.93%.

About Kadant

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.