Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stake in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT)

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of Kennametal worth $2,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,573,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,819,000 after acquiring an additional 78,149 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kennametal by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,543,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,106,000 after acquiring an additional 308,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kennametal in the fourth quarter valued at $59,207,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kennametal by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,815,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,096,000 after purchasing an additional 17,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kennametal by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,479,599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,540,000 after acquiring an additional 56,104 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Kennametal from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kennametal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.20.

Kennametal Stock Performance

Shares of KMT stock opened at $18.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.53. Kennametal Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.30 and a 1 year high of $32.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.20.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). Kennametal had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 8.12%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Kennametal’s payout ratio is 65.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sanjay Chowbey purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $217,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 77,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,691.25. This trade represents a 14.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.41% 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.