MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Acquires 228 Shares of Kellanova $K

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 11.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,235 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kellanova by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,695,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,697,039,000 after acquiring an additional 259,604 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in Kellanova by 0.7% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 19,718,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,626,579,000 after buying an additional 128,439 shares in the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP increased its position in Kellanova by 39.0% in the first quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 8,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,920,000 after buying an additional 2,245,000 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Kellanova by 3.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,015,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,243,000 after buying an additional 117,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 11.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,953,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,617,000 after acquiring an additional 292,063 shares during the period. 83.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total transaction of $9,116,350.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,097,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,501,192.90. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,031,263 shares of company stock worth $82,079,367. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of K opened at $78.26 on Friday. Kellanova has a fifty-two week low of $77.70 and a fifty-two week high of $83.22. The company has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.05). Kellanova had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 32.54%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Kellanova’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on K. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Kellanova in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.50 price target for the company. Citigroup raised Kellanova to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kellanova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kellanova presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.38.

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.