HM Payson & Co. Cuts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

HM Payson & Co. decreased its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,822 shares of the company’s stock after selling 725 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth $298,000. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 26,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 7,913 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 8,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 16,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Up 2.4 %

GIS stock traded up $1.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.28. 5,271,531 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,484,521. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $75.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.69. The stock has a market cap of $38.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on GIS shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.82.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.