Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 327 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 57.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Kellanova in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Kellanova in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Motco grew its holdings in Kellanova by 757.6% in the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Kellanova in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kellanova Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE K opened at $80.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.10. Kellanova has a 52 week low of $47.63 and a 52 week high of $80.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $27.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.39.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Kellanova had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.74%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 85.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.64, for a total value of $4,484,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,219,838 shares in the company, valued at $2,952,311,462.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $4,051,249,113.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.64, for a total transaction of $4,484,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 51,219,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,311,462.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 892,583 shares of company stock worth $60,355,010. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

K has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kellanova from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $83.50 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Kellanova from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $83.50 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kellanova currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.32.

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.