SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 93.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,042 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237,468 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 1.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.8% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Trading Down 2.9 %

GIS stock opened at $59.84 on Wednesday. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.94 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The company has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIS has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.94.

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.