Focus Financial Network Inc. Sells 24,129 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Focus Financial Network Inc. lowered its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 65.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,129 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in General Mills by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $63,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $58.46 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.05. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.85 and a 1 year high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted 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 return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.13.

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 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.