Aviva PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Aviva PLC increased its position in Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 542,709 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,531 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.16% of Kellanova worth $43,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Kellanova by 26.6% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Kellanova in the third quarter worth about $636,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Kellanova by 91.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 196,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,833,000 after acquiring an additional 93,586 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in Kellanova by 48.6% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 9,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Kellanova by 5.2% during the third 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. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kellanova Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of K opened at $82.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.31 and a 200 day moving average of $81.40. Kellanova has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $83.22.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 37.25% and a net margin of 10.53%. On average, research analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Kellanova from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kellanova has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.96.

Insider Activity at Kellanova

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $9,329,347.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 48,534,944 shares in the company, valued at $3,951,715,140.48. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,260,413 shares of company stock worth $103,473,032 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kellanova Company 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.