Kellanova (NYSE:K) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 2,846,914 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the previous session's volume of 2,750,599 shares.The stock last traded at $80.80 and had previously closed at $81.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on K. Citigroup upgraded shares of Kellanova to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Kellanova from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kellanova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.75.

Kellanova Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.30. The company's fifty day moving average is $82.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.91.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 37.25%. The business's revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.44, for a total transaction of $9,446,222.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 47,389,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,906,758,558.16. The trade was a 0.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,260,413 shares of company stock valued at $103,673,553 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kellanova

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of K. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth about $285,126,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 869.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,579,058 shares of the company's stock worth $208,826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313,047 shares during the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 8,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $659,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,000 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 182.3% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,388,000 shares of the company's stock worth $193,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 136.0% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 1,745,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,356,000 after buying an additional 1,006,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company's stock.

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.