GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,470 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,053 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in General Mills by 105.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,552,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926,232 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in General Mills by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,502,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,474,177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867,678 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in General Mills by 100.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,728,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,138,000 after buying an additional 2,368,563 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 6,140.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 945,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,807,000 after buying an additional 930,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 6,114.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 450,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,266,000 after buying an additional 443,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $63.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.36 and a 200-day moving average of $67.92. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.47 and a twelve month high of $75.90. The firm has a market cap of $35.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,897,326 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on General Mills from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.56.

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.