Kellanova (NYSE:K) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Kellanova (NYSE:K) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $82.75 and last traded at $82.71, with a volume of 2494582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

K has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas lowered Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Kellanova from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research report on Monday. 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.96.

Kellanova Stock Down 0.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 49,107,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,963,004,221.30. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,145,830 shares of company stock worth $93,291,187. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of K. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kellanova by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,435,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,626,322,000 after purchasing an additional 281,137 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Kellanova by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,725,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,489,000 after buying an additional 731,273 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,884,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,014,000 after buying an additional 158,560 shares during the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 5,755,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,982,000 after buying an additional 450,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,168,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,489,000 after acquiring an additional 111,396 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

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.