Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $30.17 Million Stock Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 48.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 285,147 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 272,400 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $30,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Kirby by 8.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in Kirby by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,980. The trade was a 66.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,285 shares of company stock worth $3,114,877 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX opened at $106.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $109.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.23. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $83.24 and a twelve month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 8.78%. Equities analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.