Korea Investment CORP Boosts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 298,130 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,961 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in General Mills were worth $19,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $59.09 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $32.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $59.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.67.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently 52.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho reduced their target price on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.69.

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.