Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Purchases 140 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. grew its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Kadant were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KAI. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Kadant by 15.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 46.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,482,000 after purchasing an additional 306,352 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 133.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,752 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 16.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Kadant by 6.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 84,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,712,000 after purchasing an additional 5,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total transaction of $60,527.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,392.50. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This trade represents a 29.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Kadant Trading Down 0.5 %

KAI stock traded down $1.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $416.78. 636 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 81,166. Kadant Inc. has a one year low of $249.51 and a one year high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 42.91 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $349.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.89.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $266.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Kadant’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 13.10%.

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.