BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Trims Stake in Kellanova (NYSE:K)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lowered its holdings in Kellanova (NYSE:K) by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 463,001 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Kellanova were worth $12,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Kellanova by 11.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,909,000 after acquiring an additional 277,171 shares in the last quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 2,141,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,546,000 after purchasing an additional 10,510 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 766.5% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664,461 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova during the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,065,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,391,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,244,000 after buying an additional 40,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Kellanova Stock Performance

NYSE:K opened at $81.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.65. The stock has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.39. Kellanova has a twelve month low of $51.02 and a twelve month high of $81.34.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. Kellanova had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 37.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.99, for a total value of $9,280,077.17. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,337,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,995,805,654.75. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,109,047 shares of company stock worth $89,483,556 in the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on K shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Kellanova from $63.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Kellanova from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. DA Davidson downgraded Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $83.50 in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.35.

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.