Metis Global Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 317 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $2,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 11.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,909,000 after buying an additional 277,171 shares during the last quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 0.5% during the second quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 2,141,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,546,000 after purchasing an additional 10,510 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Kellanova by 766.5% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,532,000 after buying an additional 1,664,461 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Kellanova during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,065,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Kellanova by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,391,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,244,000 after acquiring an additional 40,406 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of Kellanova stock opened at $80.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.70 and a 200 day moving average of $69.75. Kellanova has a 12 month low of $51.02 and a 12 month high of $81.34.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 37.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on K shares. Bank of America upgraded Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Kellanova to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Kellanova from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total transaction of $6,272,236.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,597,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,079,165,451.56. This represents a 0.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,072,264 shares of company stock valued at $86,452,375 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.