Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 6,186 Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Kellanova by 66.1% during the first quarter, now owning 15,544 shares valued at approximately $1,282,000.
• Kellanova recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, a slight increase from the previous dividend of $0.57, representing an annual yield of 2.9%.
• Wall Street analysts hold a consensus rating of "Hold" for Kellanova, with an average price target of $79.75, following its recent earnings miss of $0.94 EPS against an estimated $0.99.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) by 66.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,544 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,186 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Kellanova were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Kellanova by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 106,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,609,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 174.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 8,404 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 21,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,732,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Kellanova by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,006,698 shares of the company's stock worth $81,512,000 after acquiring an additional 97,490 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Kellanova by 74.2% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 273,776 shares of the company's stock worth $22,168,000 after purchasing an additional 116,572 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kellanova currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.75.

Kellanova Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:K opened at $79.90 on Friday. Kellanova has a 1 year low of $61.47 and a 1 year high of $83.22. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $80.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company 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.

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). Kellanova had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a positive change from Kellanova's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Kellanova's payout ratio is 59.84%.

Insider Activity at Kellanova

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.92, for a total value of $9,157,473.36. Following the sale, the insider owned 45,670,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,649,975,890.48. This trade represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,374,996 shares of company stock worth $110,891,136. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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