General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Sold by Montgomery Investment Management Inc.

Montgomery Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. General Mills makes up 2.8% of Montgomery Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Montgomery Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $7,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in General Mills by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Mills

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.94.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $58.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.94 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.30. 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 (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. General Mills’s payout ratio is 52.17%.

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.