Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Sold by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group reduced its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 288,020 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 40,344 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.50% of Kirby worth $30,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Kirby by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $204,154,000 after purchasing an additional 12,337 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kirby by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $117,724,000 after buying an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $74,293,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 525,708 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $55,620,000 after acquiring an additional 48,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,911,000 after acquiring an additional 10,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KEX. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE KEX opened at $101.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a 12 month low of $93.63 and a 12 month high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $103.71 and a 200-day moving average of $113.39.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Kirby Company 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.