SPC Financial Inc. Boosts Holdings in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

SPC Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,455 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Kellanova in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Kellanova in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Kellanova during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:K opened at $80.65 on Wednesday. Kellanova has a one year low of $47.63 and a one year high of $81.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.38. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Kellanova had a return on equity of 36.74% and a net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.39%.

Insider Transactions at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.72, for a total transaction of $9,249,139.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,139,106 shares in the company, valued at $4,047,228,636.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.72, for a total value of $9,249,139.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,139,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,047,228,636.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.14, for a total value of $4,367,692.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,142,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,871,114,013.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,080,732 shares of company stock worth $79,115,595. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on K shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America raised Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $70.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised Kellanova to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Kellanova from $63.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.32.

Kellanova 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.