Geode Capital Management LLC Has $91.78 Million Stock Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 265,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,019 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.27% of Kadant worth $91,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $193,595,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $420,292,000 after purchasing an additional 243,267 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth about $46,529,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth about $39,400,000. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,560,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Kadant Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KAI opened at $311.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $354.19 and its 200 day moving average is $359.16. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.51 and a 12-month 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 results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. 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.