Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,968 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 9.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,741 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,968 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GIS. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 409.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.82.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $66.88. 1,031,505 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,067,918. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $37.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.55. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.33 and a 1-year high of $75.88.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Company Profile

General Mills, Inc manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates through four segments: North America Retail; International; Pet; and North America Foodservice. It offers grain, ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.