General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Position Raised by Access Financial Services Inc.

Access Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,936 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares during the period. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 123,599.0% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,076,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,723,000 after buying an additional 11,067,051 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $382,081,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in General Mills by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,935,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,741 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in General Mills by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,051,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,111 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in General Mills by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,249,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $691,725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $69.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.15. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.33 and a 1-year high of $90.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.82.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GIS. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.18.

Insider Activity

In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,602,574.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,602,574.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,057,820 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Mills 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.