Griffin Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 35.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,559 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $377,205,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in General Mills by 106.9% during the fourth 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in General Mills by 257.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,061,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,954,000 after buying an additional 765,070 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 165.6% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,049,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,381,000 after buying an additional 654,550 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 6,893.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 512,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,361,000 after buying an additional 504,816 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $63.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.40. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $77.63. The firm has a market cap of $35.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.75.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 54.76%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.