Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Kellanova $K

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs reduced its stake in Kellanova by 2.1%, selling 34,792 shares, which leaves them with approximately 1.6 million shares valued at $131.8 million.
• Insider selling has occurred recently, with the Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust offloading 114,599 shares for about $9.1 million, reflecting a 0.25% decrease in their ownership.
• Kellanova will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share on September 15, marking an increase from the previous $0.57 dividend, and representing a 2.9% yield.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,597,505 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,792 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Kellanova worth $131,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Kellanova by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,695,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,697,039,000 after acquiring an additional 259,604 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Kellanova by 0.7% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 19,718,498 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,626,579,000 after acquiring an additional 128,439 shares during the period. Pentwater Capital Management LP grew its stake in Kellanova by 39.0% in the first quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 8,000,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $659,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,000 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Kellanova by 3.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,015,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,243,000 after acquiring an additional 117,650 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Kellanova by 12.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,949,498 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,481,000 after acquiring an additional 316,567 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.87% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on K shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kellanova from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup upgraded 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. started coverage on 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total value of $9,116,350.45. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,031,263 shares of company stock valued at $82,079,367 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Kellanova stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $79.07. 1,840,168 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,928,547. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $79.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.27. Kellanova has a one year low of $77.70 and a one year high of $83.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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 last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 60.89%.

Kellanova 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.