USS Investment Management Ltd Trims Stock Position in Kellanova $K

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd sold 59,300 shares of Kellanova, reducing its stake by 54.5%, leaving it with 49,511 shares valued at $4.08 million.
• Kellanova's quarterly earnings report showed a missed earnings per share estimate of $0.94, and the company also announced a dividend increase to $0.58 per share.
• Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase both gave Kellanova a "neutral" rating with a price target of $83.50, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "hold" to "sell."

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) by 54.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,511 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,300 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Kellanova were worth $4,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of K. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Kellanova by 1.8% in 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 during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Kellanova by 1.3% in 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 during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in Kellanova by 7.1% in 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 during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in Kellanova by 6.0% in 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 during the period. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised Kellanova to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kellanova from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $83.50 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,097,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,587,501,192.90. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,145,846 shares of company stock valued at $91,267,778 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:K traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $79.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,330,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,460,583. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.27. Kellanova has a twelve month low of $77.70 and a twelve month high of $83.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.78 and a 200 day moving average of $81.15. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.05). Kellanova had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 32.54%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. 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 yield of 2.9%. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.