First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 782,731 shares of the company's stock after selling 122,668 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.23% of Kellanova worth $63,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at about $285,126,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Kellanova by 869.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Kellanova by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,388,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $193,356,000 after buying an additional 1,542,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Kellanova by 134.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,363 shares of the company's stock worth $145,309,000 after buying an additional 1,033,383 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 538.6% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 585,691 shares of the company's stock worth $47,423,000 after acquiring an additional 493,976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.87% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.70, for a total transaction of $9,476,014.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,847,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,956,983,784.20. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,260,413 shares of company stock valued at $103,737,719 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Kellanova stock opened at $82.59 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.37 and a 200-day moving average of $81.54. The stock has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.61. Kellanova had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 37.25%. On average, analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts 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 report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on Kellanova in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kellanova presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.96.

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.

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