Woodline Partners LP Sells 111,917 Shares of Kellanova $K

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP has cut its stake in Kellanova by 31.1%, now holding approximately 0.07% of the company worth $20.43 million.
• Kellanova recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.58 per share, representing a 2.9% yield and a payout ratio of 60.89%.
• Market analysts have mixed views on Kellanova, with JPMorgan issuing a "neutral" rating and Citigroup recently raising its rating to "neutral" with a target price of $83.50.

Woodline Partners LP cut its holdings in Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 247,715 shares of the company's stock after selling 111,917 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.07% of Kellanova worth $20,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kellanova by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,695,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,697,039,000 after purchasing an additional 259,604 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 128,439 shares during the period. Pentwater Capital Management LP grew its position in Kellanova by 39.0% during the first quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 8,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $659,920,000 after buying an additional 2,245,000 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Kellanova by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,015,549 shares of the company's stock worth $331,243,000 after acquiring an additional 117,650 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Kellanova by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,949,498 shares of the company's stock worth $243,481,000 after acquiring an additional 316,567 shares during the period. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of the 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 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 have sold a total of 1,145,846 shares of company stock valued at $91,267,778 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded Kellanova to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.50 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kellanova from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $83.50 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Kellanova currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.38.

Kellanova Price Performance

NYSE:K traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,279,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,510,036. Kellanova has a twelve month low of $77.70 and a twelve month high of $83.22. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.10. The company has a market capitalization of $27.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.27.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Kellanova's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.89%.

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.