Atom Investors LP Has $1.10 Million Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Atom Investors LP decreased its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,878 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,146 shares during the quarter. Atom Investors LP’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the third quarter valued at $27,000. First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in General Mills in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on General Mills in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on General Mills from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.67.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $66.27 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.47 and a 1-year high of $75.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.40.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. General Mills had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 26.85%. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total transaction of $3,190,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 355,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,379,054.08. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,007.58. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,555 shares of company stock valued at $4,721,336 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% 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 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.