Western Standard LLC Acquires Shares of 64,000 Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Western Standard LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 64,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,165,000. Kellanova makes up about 4.8% of Western Standard LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of K. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Kellanova by 57.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 467 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in Kellanova by 529.3% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 365 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Kellanova by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kellanova by 48.8% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total value of $9,305,285.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,222,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,997,354,514.82. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 1,145,830 shares of company stock worth $92,516,606 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kellanova Price Performance

K traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $80.72. 625,051 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,963,849. The stock has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Kellanova has a twelve month low of $52.46 and a twelve month high of $81.34. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $80.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.84.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.05% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on K shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Kellanova from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $83.50 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Kellanova from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Argus downgraded shares of Kellanova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Friday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.35.

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.