Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Stock Holdings Lowered by ARK Investment Management LLC

ARK Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 495 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kennametal were worth $154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kennametal by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,646,987 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $376,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,328,786 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in Kennametal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 9,707,735 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,739,000 after purchasing an additional 790,456 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 1.4% in the third quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,679,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,420,000 after purchasing an additional 66,389 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,247,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,125,000 after buying an additional 297,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Kennametal by 13.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,042,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,924,000 after buying an additional 349,174 shares during the period.

Kennametal Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of KMT stock opened at $24.86 on Thursday. Kennametal Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.08 and a 12 month high of $30.60. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $24.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.44. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.79.

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

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Kennametal declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KMT shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Kennametal in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com cut Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Kennametal from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kennametal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.75.

Insider Transactions at Kennametal

In other news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total transaction of $25,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,343 shares in the company, valued at $34,313.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.61% of the company’s stock.

About Kennametal

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.