Erste Asset Management GmbH Reduces Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 19.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,509 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Kadant were worth $9,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at about $193,595,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Kadant by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 280,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,909,000 after acquiring an additional 6,412 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Kadant by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 144,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Kadant by 1.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 130,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,036,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 34.8% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 122,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,447,000 after purchasing an additional 31,675 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Kadant Stock Performance

NYSE:KAI opened at $338.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.66 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $368.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $357.38. Kadant Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.51 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released 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 return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. Analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Kadant Company 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.