Harbour Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Harbour Investments Inc. lowered its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,502 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $61.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.55. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.15 and a 1-year high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. General Mills’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on GIS shares. Mizuho cut their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut their target price on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America cut their target price on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills 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 transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.