Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys 6,850 Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 114.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,810 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LifePlan Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Kellanova in the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Kellanova by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd now owns 417,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,354,000 after acquiring an additional 6,593 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Kellanova by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 852,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,687,000 after acquiring an additional 6,615 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Kellanova in the fourth quarter worth about $889,000. Finally, Graypoint LLC purchased a new stake in Kellanova in the fourth quarter worth about $388,000. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on K. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Kellanova from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Kellanova from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.59, for a total value of $4,169,302.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 52,853,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,832,426,460.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 933,600 shares of company stock worth $51,308,322. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:K opened at $56.07 on Thursday. Kellanova has a twelve month low of $47.63 and a twelve month high of $72.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $55.50 and its 200 day moving average is $53.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.40.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Kellanova had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 35.17%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Kellanova’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.45%.

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.