General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Purchased by Davidson Trust Co.

Davidson Trust Co. lifted its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,008 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Mills by 123,599.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,076,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $928,723,000 after acquiring an additional 11,067,051 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth $382,081,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in General Mills by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,935,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,673,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,741 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in General Mills by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,051,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in General Mills by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,249,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $691,725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,169 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of GIS traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,065,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,251,617. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $90.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $66.69 and its 200 day moving average is $65.24. The firm has a market cap of $39.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total transaction of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,602,574.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total value of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,523,044.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total transaction of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,057,820 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.18.

About General Mills

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.