Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,978 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kennametal were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Kennametal by 3.5% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Kennametal by 2.9% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Kennametal by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Kennametal by 0.7% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 167,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Kennametal by 191.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Kennametal

In related news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total transaction of $25,550.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,343 shares in the company, valued at $34,313.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Kennametal in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Kennametal from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kennametal from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kennametal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.58.

Kennametal Stock Up 1.2 %

KMT opened at $24.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.78. Kennametal Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.08 and a 52 week high of $30.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.33.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $495.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $498.99 million. Kennametal had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 5.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. Kennametal’s payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Kennametal Company Profile

Kennametal Inc engages in development and application of tungsten carbides, ceramics, and super-hard materials and solutions for use in metal cutting and extreme wear applications to enable customers work against corrosion and high temperatures conditions worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Metal Cutting and Infrastructure.