Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,488,451 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 136,895 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.63% of General Mills worth $923,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Down 0.9 %

GIS stock opened at $59.21 on Thursday. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.15 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $59.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on GIS shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho cut their target price on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.69.

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.