Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Decreases Position in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP reduced its stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in K. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Kellanova by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,725,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,489,000 after purchasing an additional 731,273 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kellanova by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,725,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,052,000 after buying an additional 196,564 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 134.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,383 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kellanova by 2.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,630,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 63.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 1,624,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,091,000 after acquiring an additional 632,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $9,246,848.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,107,859 shares in the company, valued at $3,963,004,221.30. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,031,247 shares of company stock worth $83,985,902 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of NYSE K opened at $82.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.81. Kellanova has a one year low of $52.46 and a one year high of $82.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $81.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.95.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 58.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on K shares. BNP Paribas cut shares of Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com started coverage on Kellanova in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Kellanova from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.96.

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.