Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Purchases Shares of 25,000 Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in K. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in Kellanova by 766.5% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664,461 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova during the 2nd quarter valued at $88,065,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kellanova during the 3rd quarter worth $107,795,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 2nd quarter worth $63,585,000. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP boosted its holdings in Kellanova by 63.8% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 1,624,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,091,000 after acquiring an additional 632,510 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on K shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Kellanova in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Kellanova from $63.00 to $83.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus downgraded shares of Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $76.00 to $83.50 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $83.50 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.35.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of NYSE K opened at $80.78 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. Kellanova has a fifty-two week low of $52.46 and a fifty-two week high of $81.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.84. The firm has a market cap of $27.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.38.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 37.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.35%.

Insider Transactions at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.25, for a total value of $9,195,285.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,482,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,051,249,113.75. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,145,830 shares of company stock valued at $92,516,606. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.