General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Sold by Sandhill Capital Partners LLC

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,906 shares during the quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GIS. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 1.9% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sabal Trust CO raised its holdings in General Mills by 7,817.6% during the fourth quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 290,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,902,000 after purchasing an additional 286,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GIS shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. raised their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup started coverage on General Mills in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.18.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related 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 value of $492,094.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at $6,602,574.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,726 shares of company stock worth $1,187,811. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Mills Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GIS traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $71.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,871,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,259,650. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $90.89. The firm has a market cap of $40.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.49.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 54.13%.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.