General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,093 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $5,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,171,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 13,043 shares during the period. Finally, Sabal Trust CO raised its position in shares of General Mills by 7,817.6% during the 4th quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 290,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,902,000 after buying an additional 286,514 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,706.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $63.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.38. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $77.63. The company has a market capitalization of $35.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.72.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.80%. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.44.

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.