F M Investments LLC Sells 25,031 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

F M Investments LLC lowered its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 67.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 25,031 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $4,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 267.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth about $160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of KAI stock opened at $311.16 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $354.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $359.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.51 and a 1 year high of $429.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.82 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. On average, equities analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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.

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.