Ancora Advisors LLC Sells 91,131 Shares of Kellanova $K

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Kellanova by 34.0%, selling 91,131 shares, which left them with 177,142 shares valued at approximately $14.6 million.
• The major shareholder, Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust, sold 114,599 shares for over $9 million, decreasing their ownership by 0.25%.
• Kellanova recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58, up from the previous $0.57, with a payout ratio of 59.84% and a yield of 2.9%.

Ancora Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) by 34.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,142 shares of the company's stock after selling 91,131 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Kellanova worth $14,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Kellanova by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,373 shares of the company's stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Kellanova by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,334 shares of the company's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kellanova by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,423 shares of the company's stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kellanova by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the company's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Kellanova by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,288 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total transaction of $9,116,350.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,097,438 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,501,192.90. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,260,429 shares of company stock valued at $100,650,980 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on K. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Kellanova in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $83.50 target price for the company. Citigroup upgraded Kellanova to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kellanova from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.38.

Kellanova Stock Up 0.5%

K stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.86. The company had a trading volume of 3,493,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,250,534. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.20. The company has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.27. Kellanova has a 52 week low of $77.70 and a 52 week high of $83.22.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for 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%.The business's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost from Kellanova's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Kellanova's payout ratio is currently 60.89%.

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.