Westchester Capital Management LLC Buys 265,312 Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,600,893 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 265,312 shares during the period. Kellanova accounts for approximately 7.1% of Westchester Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Westchester Capital Management LLC owned about 0.46% of Kellanova worth $129,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kellanova by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,435,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,626,322,000 after buying an additional 281,137 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kellanova by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,884,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $556,014,000 after buying an additional 158,560 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Kellanova by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,168,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,489,000 after buying an additional 111,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $285,126,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $208,826,000 after buying an additional 2,313,047 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on K shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Kellanova from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.96.

Kellanova Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE K traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,062,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,735,138. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.62. The stock has a market cap of $28.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.34. Kellanova has a 52-week low of $55.96 and a 52-week high of $83.22.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.61. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.25% and a net margin of 10.53%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.25, for a total transaction of $9,424,451.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,076,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,954,301,337. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,260,413 shares of company stock valued at $103,801,886 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.80% 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.