Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC cut its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,192,863 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 6,931 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 2.08% of Kirby worth $126,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 659 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Price Performance

Kirby stock opened at $107.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $81.87 and a 1 year high of $132.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $111.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.71.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 8.78%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,045.90. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. This represents a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.40.

About Kirby

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.