DnB Asset Management AS Buys 7,236 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,879 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,236 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in General Mills were worth $8,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $59.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.67. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.15 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The company has a market cap of $32.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. General Mills’s payout ratio is 52.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at $22,967,490. This represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.69.

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.