Toroso Investments LLC Buys 5,236 Shares of Kellogg (NYSE:K)

Toroso Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kellogg (NYSE:K) by 36.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,429 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,236 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC’s holdings in Kellogg were worth $1,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in K. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P boosted its holdings in shares of Kellogg by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 424,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,405,000 after purchasing an additional 207,392 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kellogg by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of Kellogg by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 34,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Kellogg by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kellogg by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 38,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Kellogg Stock Performance

NYSE:K opened at $59.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.97. Kellogg has a 52-week low of $58.81 and a 52-week high of $77.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.42.

Kellogg (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.14. Kellogg had a return on equity of 33.33% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Analysts forecast that Kellogg will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Kellogg Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio is 96.00%.

Insider Activity at Kellogg

In other Kellogg news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $6,594,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 54,731,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,609,017,397.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.66, for a total value of $4,641,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 54,176,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,232,154,359.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 100,000 shares of Kellogg stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total value of $6,594,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 54,731,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,609,017,397.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 655,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,811,424. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on K. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Kellogg from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Kellogg in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Kellogg from $74.00 to $69.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Kellogg from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kellogg in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.86.

Kellogg Profile

Kellogg Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks and convenience foods. The company operates through four segments: North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Middle East 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.