Western Standard LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 64,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,165,000. Kellanova accounts for approximately 4.8% of Western Standard LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in K. State Street Corp raised its stake in Kellanova by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,725,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,489,000 after purchasing an additional 731,273 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Kellanova by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,909,000 after purchasing an additional 277,171 shares in the last quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Kellanova by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 2,141,913 shares of the company's stock worth $123,546,000 after buying an additional 10,510 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 766.5% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,532,000 after buying an additional 1,664,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Kellanova by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,630,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,606,000 after buying an additional 35,268 shares during the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Kellanova in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price 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. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Kellanova from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $83.50 in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Argus cut Kellanova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kellanova has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.35.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Kellanova
K stock opened at $80.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $27.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.38. Kellanova has a 52-week low of $52.46 and a 52-week high of $81.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.84.
Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 37.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.35%.
In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,482,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,051,249,113.75. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,145,830 shares of company stock valued at $92,516,606. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.
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.
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