FORA Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 58,140 Kellanova $K

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has made a significant investment of approximately $4.80 million in Kellanova, purchasing 58,140 shares of the company in the first quarter of the year.
• In addition to FORA's investment, several other hedge funds increased their stakes in Kellanova, with Tudor Investment Corp growing its position by 136% and Bank of America boosting its holdings by 43.1% in the last quarter.
• Kellanova recently announced a rise in its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.58 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.9% as it prepares for the payout on September 15th.

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 58,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,796,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Kellanova by 2.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Kellanova by 1.8% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kellanova by 1.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kellanova by 7.1% in the first quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Kellanova by 6.0% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kellanova Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of K stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.48. 3,564,768 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,009,401. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Kellanova has a 52 week low of $77.70 and a 52 week high of $83.22. The company has a market capitalization of $27.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.27.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Kellanova's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.84%.

Insider Transactions at Kellanova

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total value of $9,116,350.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,097,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,501,192.90. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,260,429 shares of company stock valued at $100,650,980. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on K. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kellanova from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Kellanova to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.50 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Kellanova in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $83.50 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.38.

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.