General Mills, Inc. $GIS Stake Lifted by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 787.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 541,048 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 480,098 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $25,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in General Mills by 255.8% during the 3rd quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 59,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 42,986 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in General Mills in the 2nd quarter worth about $417,508,000. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 7.7% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 346,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,445,000 after purchasing an additional 24,688 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 161.9% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 333,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,800,000 after buying an additional 205,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 22.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,628,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,625,000 after buying an additional 1,383,913 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $35.97 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.63 and a 1 year high of $62.61. The firm has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79 and a beta of -0.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.56.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 12.05%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. General Mills’s payout ratio is 59.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on General Mills in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen cut their target price on General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on General Mills from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on General Mills from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on General Mills from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $44.61.

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.