Versant Capital Management Inc Boosts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 366.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 904 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in General Mills were worth $58,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Foundation Advisors increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 400.0% in 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 last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS stock opened at $63.88 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.47 and a 12-month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 12.14% and a return on equity of 26.85%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GIS. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on General Mills from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.56.

Insider Activity at General Mills

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

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 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.