Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 32,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,618,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of K. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 766.5% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company's stock worth $108,532,000 after buying an additional 1,664,461 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Kellanova during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,065,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kellanova during the third quarter valued at approximately $107,795,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Kellanova in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,585,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 134.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,363 shares of the company's stock worth $145,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Kellanova in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Argus cut shares of Kellanova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Kellanova from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $9,253,723.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,680,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,012,219,308.24. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,031,247 shares of company stock worth $83,509,236 in the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:K traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.73. 2,647,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,723,373. The firm has a market cap of $28.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Kellanova has a 12 month low of $52.46 and a 12 month high of $81.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.37.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.05% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio is 78.35%.

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.