Silphium Asset Management Ltd Purchases 160,000 Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Silphium Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 177.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 250,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 160,000 shares during the quarter. Kellanova accounts for approximately 6.7% of Silphium Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Silphium Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.07% of Kellanova worth $20,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in K. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 64.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 440 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Kellanova from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.50 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kellanova presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.96.

Insider Transactions at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $9,239,973.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,878,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,941,577,803.52. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,145,830 shares of company stock valued at $93,461,916. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Kellanova Trading Up 0.5 %

Kellanova stock opened at $82.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.37. Kellanova has a 52-week low of $52.46 and a 52-week high of $82.94.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 58.91%.

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.