Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,581 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,480 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $12,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 5,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in General Mills by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 48,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc raised its holdings in General Mills by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 6,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in General Mills by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 2,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $63.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $35.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.12. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $77.63.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 54.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

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