Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,645 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,020 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.89% of Karat Packaging worth $4,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in shares of Karat Packaging during the third quarter worth $30,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 497.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 9,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at $401,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KRT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Karat Packaging from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair lowered Karat Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Karat Packaging Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ KRT opened at $30.24 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.96. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.14. The firm has a market cap of $605.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is 114.29%.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of single-use disposable products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and other compostable forms used in various restaurant and foodservice settings. It provides food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves, and other products under the Karat Earth brand.