West Oak Capital LLC Has $1.74 Million Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,824 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 280 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,737,000 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. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 199.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 409.8% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $63.17. 2,949,497 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,208,712. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.09. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America cut their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded General Mills from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.