Sowell Financial Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,644 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,019 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $84.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of GIS stock opened at $64.53 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.15 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.33 and its 200 day moving average is $66.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share 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 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

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 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.