General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 34,240 shares of the company’s stock after selling 788 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $2,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake 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 acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $59.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.85 and a twelve month high of $75.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GIS. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.13.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.