Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,482 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,086 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $2,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 112,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,082,000 after purchasing an additional 28,767 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Kellanova by 173.8% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 11,984 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Decagon Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kellanova during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,125,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 463,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,542,000 after purchasing an additional 9,045 shares in the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.28, for a total value of $9,313,306.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,649,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,954,233,554.56. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,260,413 shares of company stock worth $103,290,845. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Kellanova from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.96.

Kellanova Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE K opened at $82.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.31. Kellanova has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $83.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.16 and a 200-day moving average of $81.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.91%.

Kellanova Company 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.