3,521,376 Shares in Kellanova (NYSE:K) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,521,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,126,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.02% of Kellanova as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in K. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Kellanova by 5.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 178,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,435,000 after purchasing an additional 8,686 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Kellanova by 134.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,383 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kellanova by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 612,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,622,000 after buying an additional 296,150 shares in the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Kellanova from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.96.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of NYSE K opened at $82.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.33. Kellanova has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $83.22. The stock has a market cap of $28.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.31.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.61. Kellanova had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 37.25%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 58.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.28, for a total transaction of $9,313,306.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,649,527 shares in the company, valued at $3,954,233,554.56. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,374,996 shares of company stock worth $112,737,068 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.