Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,598 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,878 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,598 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $7,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $1,171,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in General Mills by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 688,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,177,000 after purchasing an additional 38,021 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in General Mills by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 696,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,711,000 after purchasing an additional 96,712 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 13,043 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.82.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,548,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,089,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $37.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.09. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.33 and a twelve month high of $76.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.50.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.