General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Position Lifted by Massachusetts Wealth Management

Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,559 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position in General Mills by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,242,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,423,000 after buying an additional 23,400 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,074,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,858,000 after purchasing an additional 501,717 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at about $377,205,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,003,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,909,000 after purchasing an additional 235,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 106.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,442,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

GIS traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $63.08. 2,521,769 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,734,770. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $77.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.70. The company has a market capitalization of $35.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.09.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 54.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

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.