Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $121.08 Million Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,730,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,828 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.30% of General Mills worth $121,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General Mills by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in General Mills by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its stake in General Mills by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 5,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its holdings in General Mills by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 48,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,370,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 6,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS stock opened at $63.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $77.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.70.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is currently 54.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America cut their price objective 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Mills presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

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.