New England Research & Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

New England Research & Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 64.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,600 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 4,732 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 32,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after acquiring an additional 6,948 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 186,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,912,000 after acquiring an additional 33,300 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in General Mills by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 670,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,748,000 after buying an additional 47,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barry Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Mills by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Barry Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $59.94 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.42. The company has a market capitalization of $33.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.94 and a 1 year high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.94.

General Mills 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 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.