CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC cut its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,550 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $4,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in General Mills by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $743,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in General Mills by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 25,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Biondo Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 127,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,128,000 after buying an additional 3,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on GIS shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Mills Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE GIS opened at $59.70 on Wednesday. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.15 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.75%.

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.