Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $39.40 Million Investment in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 114,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,400,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.97% of Kadant at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kadant in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Kadant by 267.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth $160,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of KAI stock opened at $318.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $351.14 and a 200-day moving average of $358.83. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.51 and a 12-month high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.