Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,452 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Kennametal worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KMT. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Kennametal by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its position in Kennametal by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 43,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 12,198 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Kennametal by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 58,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after buying an additional 7,377 shares during the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in Kennametal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $484,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Kennametal

In other Kennametal news, CEO Sanjay Chowbey bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $217,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,691.25. This represents a 14.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kennametal Stock Performance

KMT opened at $18.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.55. Kennametal Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.30 and a fifty-two week high of $32.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.95 and a 200 day moving average of $24.03.

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

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.20.

Kennametal Company Profile

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.