Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 343 Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,512 shares of the company’s stock after selling 343 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Kellanova by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 1.4% in the second quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 13,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Eukles Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 26,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Kellanova by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 46,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,659,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its position in Kellanova by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

K has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Kellanova to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. BNP Paribas upgraded Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $83.50 in a research note 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.32.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of K opened at $80.81 on Friday. Kellanova has a 52 week low of $47.63 and a 52 week high of $80.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $27.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $72.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.93.

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

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a boost from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.39%.

Insider Activity at Kellanova

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,871,114,013.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.65, for a total value of $9,241,118.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,368,272 shares in the company, valued at $4,062,201,136.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.14, for a total transaction of $4,367,692.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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. Insiders sold 929,366 shares of company stock valued at $65,106,291 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.