Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Purchases 729 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 19.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,539 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Americana Partners LLC grew its position in Kirby by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Kirby by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 29,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,792,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Kirby by 91.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Kirby by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 398 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were 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. This represents a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at $7,637,043.54. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,596 shares of company stock valued at $7,515,760. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Down 1.5 %

KEX opened at $128.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.45 and a 200 day moving average of $119.73. The company has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. Kirby’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.