AMG National Trust Bank Decreases Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

AMG National Trust Bank lowered its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 10.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in General Mills were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. First Foundation Advisors boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 400.0% during the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in General Mills by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 559 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the third quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In related news, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $173,514.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,184 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,411.92. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mark A. Pallot sold 8,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.28, for a total value of $576,156.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,055,870.64. This represents a 35.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 67,555 shares of company stock valued at $4,721,336. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GIS. TD Cowen lifted their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on General Mills in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.67.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $62.78 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.39. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.47 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.11.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. General Mills had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 26.85%. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

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 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.