Empirical Finance LLC Buys 322 Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,829 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Zhang Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 0.8% during the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 21,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kellanova by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 11,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC grew its stake in Kellanova by 64.5% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 5,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. 83.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.14, for a total value of $4,367,692.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,142,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,871,114,013.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.14, for a total value of $4,367,692.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,142,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,871,114,013.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Nicolas Amaya sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $588,490.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,769.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 865,600 shares of company stock worth $50,838,732. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on K shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Kellanova from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Kellanova from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kellanova from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Kellanova from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Kellanova from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kellanova presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.85.

Kellanova Price Performance

K stock opened at $56.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.34. Kellanova has a 1 year low of $47.63 and a 1 year high of $68.23.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 37.07%. Kellanova’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.90%.

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.