General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Holdings Lowered by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 706 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in General Mills by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in General Mills by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in General Mills by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $59.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.98 and its 200-day moving average is $64.86. 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 $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is 52.75%.

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.