Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 1,655 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lowered its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,463 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,655 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $2,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 22.1% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 237,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,565,000 after purchasing an additional 43,086 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 105.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,926,232 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $547,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in General Mills by 129.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 184,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,649,000 after acquiring an additional 104,436 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in General Mills by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,803,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,054,000 after acquiring an additional 3,058,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $59.37 on Wednesday. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.85 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.13 and a 200-day moving average of $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America raised shares of General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.