Swiss National Bank Sells 117,000 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 6.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,700,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in General Mills were worth $118,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 199.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 409.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in General Mills by 769.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

GIS stock remained flat at $63.03 on Monday. 214,231 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,121,755. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $77.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.96 and a 200-day moving average of $66.58. The company has a market capitalization of $35.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.09.

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

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. 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 3.81%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,706.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.82.

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