Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 179 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 51,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in General Mills by 150.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.71.

General Mills Trading Down 0.5 %

GIS opened at $59.53 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.15 and a 1-year high of $75.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $32.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.67.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

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.