Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Has $808,000 Holdings in Kellogg (NYSE:K)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Kellogg (NYSE:K) by 23.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,758 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Kellogg were worth $808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kellogg during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $131,663,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Kellogg by 1,603.9% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,791,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,962,000 after buying an additional 1,686,391 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Kellogg by 122.1% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,981,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,610,000 after buying an additional 1,638,764 shares during the last quarter. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN purchased a new position in shares of Kellogg during the 1st quarter valued at $87,611,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Kellogg by 132.4% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,223,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,184,000 after acquiring an additional 697,288 shares during the period. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kellogg Price Performance

NYSE:K traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.96. The stock had a trading volume of 5,721,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,287,979. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66. Kellogg has a one year low of $58.81 and a one year high of $77.17.

Kellogg (NYSE:K) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.14. Kellogg had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 33.33%. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Kellogg will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellogg Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is an increase from Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Kellogg’s payout ratio is currently 96.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.66, for a total transaction of $4,641,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 54,176,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,232,154,359.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kellogg news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.10, for a total value of $6,710,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 54,631,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,665,796,329.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of Kellogg stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.66, for a total value of $4,641,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 54,176,238 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,154,359.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 655,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,811,424. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on K. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Kellogg from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Kellogg from $74.00 to $69.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Kellogg from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Kellogg from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Kellogg in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kellogg has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.86.

About Kellogg

Kellogg Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks and convenience foods. The company operates through four segments: North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Middle East 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.