Jennison Associates LLC Sells 128,088 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,199,794 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 128,088 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 2.07% of Kirby worth $146,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 955,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $91,086,000 after buying an additional 90,586 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $106,246,000 after buying an additional 224,802 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 812,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $97,255,000 after buying an additional 43,685 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new position in Kirby during the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,928,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 533,326 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $63,855,000 after buying an additional 61,573 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $128.30 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $122.71 and a 200 day moving average of $120.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $132.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,131.20. This represents a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,596 shares of company stock valued at $7,515,760 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KEX. Bank of America lifted their target price on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.