Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 94,327 Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Acadian Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 359,737 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94,327 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of Kellanova worth $20,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,184,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kellanova by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,150,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,797,525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,582 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Kellanova by 117.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,278,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,221,000 after acquiring an additional 689,395 shares during the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its stake in Kellanova by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 4,891,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,504,000 after acquiring an additional 655,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at $35,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.25, for a total transaction of $9,195,285.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,482,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,051,249,113.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.14, for a total value of $4,367,692.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,142,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,871,114,013.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.25, for a total transaction of $9,195,285.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,482,855 shares in the company, valued at $4,051,249,113.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 970,383 shares of company stock valued at $64,858,852 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on K shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kellanova from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Kellanova from $67.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $83.50 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kellanova to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.32.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Kellanova stock opened at $80.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.38. Kellanova has a 1-year low of $47.63 and a 1-year high of $80.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.08 and its 200 day moving average is $61.47.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a boost from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.39%.

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.