Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Holdings Decreased by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC cut its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,192,863 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 6,931 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $126,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.1% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 8.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $107.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $111.96 and a 200-day moving average of $117.71. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $81.87 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 8.78%. Analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,980. The trade was a 66.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $978,045.90. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KEX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.40.

Kirby Profile

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.