HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Raises Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,103 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the third quarter worth about $225,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the third quarter worth $243,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in General Mills by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 38,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GIS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. TD Cowen dropped their price target on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.71.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $59.53 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 $60.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.70. 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 $32.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.