Primecap Management Co. CA Lowers Stock Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 11.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 282,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 35,500 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Kirby were worth $33,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Kirby by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,516 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,247 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 40,764 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 4,661 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,781,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 10,782 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 4,492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,043.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total transaction of $360,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,627,533.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total value of $3,175,084.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,043.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,128 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,296 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

Kirby Price Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $122.85 on Wednesday. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $72.11 and a one year high of $130.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.59.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 8.72%. The firm had revenue of $824.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Kirby

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.