HTLF Bank Makes New Investment in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 75,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,945,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in General Mills by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 15,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 51,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Up 1.9 %

General Mills stock opened at $70.41 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $90.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.85 and its 200-day moving average is $65.30.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s payout ratio is 54.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

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

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.