Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 10,739 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 45.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,037 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 10,739 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Kirby by 23.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 250,710 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $23,897,000 after purchasing an additional 47,134 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.4% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 29,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,792,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the first quarter worth approximately $238,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 56.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 398 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at $668,131.20. The trade was a 35.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total value of $3,175,084.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,596 shares of company stock valued at $7,515,760. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX opened at $128.30 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. Kirby Co. has a 12 month low of $72.11 and a 12 month high of $132.04.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Kirby’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 EPS 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.