Optimist Retirement Group LLC Grows Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 19.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,362 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,528 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $2,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills in the third quarter worth $27,000. First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in General Mills by 400.0% in the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the second quarter worth about $38,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GIS traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $65.80. 225,888 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,883,292. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $36.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.23. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.47 and a 12 month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. General Mills had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 26.85%. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total transaction of $3,190,365.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 355,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,379,054.08. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $173,514.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,700,411.92. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,555 shares of company stock valued at $4,721,336 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.67.

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 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.