JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $21.88 Million Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 60.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 24,358 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.55% of Kadant worth $21,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KAI. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kadant news, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total transaction of $117,777.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $507,618.87. This trade represents a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total transaction of $238,350.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,848.25. The trade was a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $416,655 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Price Performance

Kadant stock opened at $344.58 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $378.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $339.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.51 and a 52-week high of $429.95.

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

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Kadant’s payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.