First Manhattan CO. LLC. Cuts Stock Position in Kellanova $K

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lowered its position in Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 61.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,334 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,584 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of K. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE K opened at $79.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Kellanova has a 12 month low of $77.70 and a 12 month high of $83.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.25. The stock has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.27.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.05). Kellanova had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 32.54%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Kellanova to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.50 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.50 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kellanova from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total transaction of $9,116,350.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,097,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,501,192.90. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,260,429 shares of company stock worth $100,650,980. 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.