6,697 Shares in Kellanova (NYSE:K) Purchased by R Squared Ltd

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd purchased 6,697 shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) in Q1, valuing the investment at approximately $552,000.
• Kellanova recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.58 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous dividend of $0.57.
• Analysts have recently rated Kellanova with a consensus average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $79.75.

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 1st quarter worth about $522,000. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 542,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,943,000 after acquiring an additional 13,531 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 57,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,957 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 1st quarter valued at about $934,000. Finally, Syquant Capital Sas raised its position in Kellanova by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Syquant Capital Sas now owns 511,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,185,000 after purchasing an additional 145,900 shares during the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on K shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Kellanova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup upgraded Kellanova to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.50 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.79, for a total transaction of $9,142,577.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,555,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,634,896,164.94. This trade represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,374,996 shares of company stock worth $110,891,136 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of Kellanova stock opened at $79.90 on Friday. Kellanova has a one year low of $61.47 and a one year high of $83.22. The stock's fifty day moving average is $80.24 and its 200 day moving average is $81.57. The stock has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 10.56%. Kellanova's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Kellanova's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.84%.

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.

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