Keynote Financial Services LLC Buys New Shares in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $549,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in General Mills by 199.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its position in General Mills by 66.3% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its position in General Mills by 769.2% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.82.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS stock traded up $1.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.28. The company had a trading volume of 5,271,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,484,521. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $65.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.69. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $60.33 and a one year high of $75.77.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 55.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% 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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.