General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Acquired by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 32,633 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,948 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $2,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in General Mills by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $60.66 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.15 and its 200-day moving average is $67.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.94 and a 12-month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other General Mills news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America raised General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen cut their target price on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.94.

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 savory snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, unbaked and fully baked frozen dough products, frozen hot snacks, ethnic meals, side dish mixes, frozen breakfast and entrees, nutrition bars, and frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.