Dark Forest Capital Management LP Purchases 4,559 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 95.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,329 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,559 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in General Mills were worth $595,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 1.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,634,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,691,000 after acquiring an additional 19,290 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 108,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,011,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $403,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in General Mills by 138.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 37,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,768,000 after purchasing an additional 21,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after buying an additional 4,528 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of GIS stock opened at $56.16 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.15 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $59.32 and its 200-day moving average is $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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 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.