Aberdeen Group plc Has $24.55 Million Position in Kellanova $K

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 16.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 308,728 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,699 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $24,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of K. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Kellanova by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Kellanova by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Kellanova by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after buying an additional 3,665 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Kellanova during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Kellanova by 2.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,598,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

K has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Kellanova from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Kellanova in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Kellanova from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kellanova presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.38.

Kellanova Price Performance

NYSE:K opened at $82.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.24. Kellanova has a 12-month low of $76.48 and a 12-month high of $83.22.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 32.54%. Kellanova’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is 60.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total transaction of $9,116,350.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 45,097,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,501,192.90. This trade represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 572,931 shares of company stock worth $45,755,411 in the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.