Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 20.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 624,079 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 106,819 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $32,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Garde Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 101.5% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Pingora Partners LLC grew its stake in General Mills by 416.7% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Mills news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total transaction of $200,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,332,313.72. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GIS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of General Mills from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised General Mills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.82.

General Mills Stock Up 0.5%

GIS stock opened at $47.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of -0.04. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.80 and a 52 week high of $67.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.35 and a 200 day moving average of $50.40.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.