Jennison Associates LLC Has $133.62 Million Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,401,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,755 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 2.40% of Kirby worth $133,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Kirby by 28.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 551 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $165,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $194,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Price Performance

Kirby stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $120.41. 302,183 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 444,974. The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $124.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $118.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.35.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 7.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total value of $360,930.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,627,533.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,806 shares of company stock worth $3,945,225 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.20.

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.