Impax Asset Management Group plc Reduces Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lessened its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 67.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 287,390 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in General Mills were worth $8,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in General Mills by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in General Mills by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in General Mills by 150.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 653 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in General Mills by 111.3% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 34,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,214,000 after buying an additional 18,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in General Mills by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 271,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,338,000 after buying an additional 22,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

General Mills stock opened at $61.32 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $55.15 and a one year high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America decreased their price target on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.88.

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.