Versant Capital Management Inc Raises Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 366.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 904 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in General Mills were worth $58,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. First Foundation Advisors grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in General Mills by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 46.7% during the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,624 shares of company stock worth $3,897,326. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS stock opened at $63.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $61.47 and a one year high of $75.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.92.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 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 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GIS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on General Mills from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.56.

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 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.