Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires 4,568 Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 168.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,284 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,568 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in K. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kellanova during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kellanova by 64.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Kellanova in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 83.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on K. StockNews.com began coverage on Kellanova in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Kellanova from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.50 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.96.

Kellanova Price Performance

K opened at $82.22 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.31. Kellanova has a 52-week low of $52.53 and a 52-week high of $83.22.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.61. Kellanova had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 37.25%. As a group, analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $9,239,973.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,878,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,941,577,803.52. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,260,413 shares of company stock valued at $103,099,492. 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.