Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 50,542 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 43.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,604 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 50,542 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Kirby worth $6,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,418,000 after purchasing an additional 30,713 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 48,693 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,961,000 after purchasing an additional 16,497 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,911,000 after purchasing an additional 10,486 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after purchasing an additional 202,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,659 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $100.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.18. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $90.91 and a one year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. As a group, analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KEX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.