MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 8,973 General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in General Mills by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 409.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 66.3% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in General Mills by 769.2% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.60.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $74.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.45 and a 200 day moving average of $68.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.33 and a twelve month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.68%.

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.