Entropy Technologies LP Purchases Shares of 11,109 General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.1% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in General Mills by 1.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in General Mills by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE:GIS opened at $59.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.85 and a 1 year high of $75.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.13 and a 200-day moving average of $67.09.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GIS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America upgraded General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.13.

General Mills Company 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.