Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Makes New Investment in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Kellanova by 766.5% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664,461 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Kellanova in the second quarter worth $88,065,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Kellanova in the second quarter worth $63,585,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Kellanova by 117.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,278,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,221,000 after buying an additional 689,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 130.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,077,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,122,000 after acquiring an additional 608,989 shares during the period. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of NYSE K traded up $0.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $81.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,554,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,119,103. Kellanova has a 52 week low of $49.28 and a 52 week high of $81.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $80.19 and its 200 day moving average is $66.65. The company has a market cap of $27.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 36.74% and a net margin of 6.72%. Kellanova’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 85.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on K. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Kellanova in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Kellanova from $67.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. DA Davidson lowered Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $83.50 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kellanova has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.32.

Insider Activity

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.63, for a total value of $9,238,827.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,909,940 shares in the company, valued at $4,024,238,462.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.63, for a total transaction of $9,238,827.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,909,940 shares in the company, valued at $4,024,238,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.01, for a total value of $5,757,978.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,830,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,761,990,320.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,076,498 shares of company stock worth $84,360,375 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Kellanova Company Profile

Kellanova, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks and convenience foods in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Australia, and Africa. Its principal products include crackers, crisps, savory snacks, toaster pastries, cereal bars, granola bars and bites, ready-to-eat cereals, frozen waffles, veggie foods, and noodles.