The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 1,454 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 2.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 48,472 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,454 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Kirby were worth $5,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC increased its position in Kirby by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Kirby by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Kirby by 91.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE KEX opened at $120.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $124.03 and a 200-day moving average of $121.02. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total value of $3,175,084.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.29, for a total value of $1,729,881.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,454.34. This trade represents a 52.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,541,440 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby 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.