Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Decreases Holdings in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,627 shares of the company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $1,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in K. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Kellanova by 491.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Kellanova by 205.4% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Kellanova by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Kellanova by 339.9% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kellanova by 95.0% during the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

K has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kellanova from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Kellanova from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Kellanova from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.27.

Insider Activity at Kellanova

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.76, for a total transaction of $4,493,728.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,920,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,998,901,394.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 933,600 shares of company stock valued at $51,632,748 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Kellanova Price Performance

NYSE K opened at $58.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.19. Kellanova has a 52-week low of $47.63 and a 52-week high of $72.30. The company has a market cap of $20.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.40.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Kellanova had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 35.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 81.45%.

About Kellanova

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.