Kellanova $K Shares Purchased by AQR Arbitrage LLC

Key Points

• AQR Arbitrage LLC significantly increased its stake in Kellanova by 55.8% during the first quarter, now owning 571,510 shares.
• Kellanova reported a missed EPS estimate of $0.94 for the last quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.99.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.58 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous dividend of $0.57.

AQR Arbitrage LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) by 55.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 571,510 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 204,736 shares during the quarter. Kellanova accounts for about 1.1% of AQR Arbitrage LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. AQR Arbitrage LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Kellanova worth $47,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in Kellanova in the first quarter valued at about $522,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Kellanova by 11.6% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 57,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,620,000 after buying an additional 5,957 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC bought a new stake in Kellanova in the first quarter valued at about $934,000. Syquant Capital Sas increased its holdings in Kellanova by 39.9% in the first quarter. Syquant Capital Sas now owns 511,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,185,000 after buying an additional 145,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 12.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 33,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,747 shares during the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised Kellanova to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.50 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Kellanova in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $83.50 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Kellanova from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kellanova currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.38.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE K traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.86. 3,493,186 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, 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's 50 day moving average price is $79.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.20. The firm has a market cap of $27.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.27. Kellanova has a twelve month low of $77.70 and a twelve month high of $83.22.

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). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 10.56%.The business's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS 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 given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Kellanova's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Kellanova's payout ratio is currently 60.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of the company'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 value of $9,116,350.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,097,438 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,501,192.90. This represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,260,429 shares of company stock valued at $100,650,980 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

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.