Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Trims Stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 157,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35,924 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Kadant were worth $54,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $806,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kadant by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 121,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,979,000 after purchasing an additional 2,141 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Kadant by 223.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 14,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,034,000 after buying an additional 10,283 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at $538,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Performance

Kadant stock opened at $336.72 on Friday. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.51 and a twelve 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. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.52 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $366.61 and its 200 day moving average is $359.71.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price target 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.