Kellanova (NYSE:K) Major Shareholder Sells $4,461,052.00 in Stock

Kellanova (NYSE:K) major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.34, for a total transaction of $4,461,052.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 52,153,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,990,478,134.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Kellanova Price Performance

NYSE K traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $57.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,948,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,314,552. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.83 and its 200 day moving average is $54.30. Kellanova has a twelve month low of $47.63 and a twelve month high of $72.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.40.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Kellanova had a return on equity of 35.17% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on K. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kellanova from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Kellanova from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. DA Davidson started coverage on Kellanova in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Kellanova from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.27.

Institutional Trading of Kellanova

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of K. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P increased its stake in shares of Kellanova by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 424,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,405,000 after acquiring an additional 207,392 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 34,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 46.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 38,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares during the period. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kellanova

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.