KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $336,000 Investment in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 14,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KMT. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Kennametal by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Kennametal by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 34,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 120.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Kennametal by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter.

Kennametal Price Performance

NYSE:KMT opened at $19.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.55. Kennametal Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $32.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.69.

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

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kennametal

In other news, CEO Sanjay Chowbey bought 10,000 shares of Kennametal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $217,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,691.25. The trade was a 14.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Kennametal from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Kennametal from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.40.

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.