NorthRock Partners LLC Buys 50,660 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1,115.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,201 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,660 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $2,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Garde Capital Inc. raised its stake in General Mills by 101.5% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of General Mills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.82.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total value of $200,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,332,313.72. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of GIS stock opened at $49.37 on Monday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.29 and a 12-month high of $72.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.78 and its 200 day moving average is $52.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of -0.03.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.12%.

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.