General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,804 shares of the company’s stock after selling 327 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $4,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. First Foundation Advisors grew 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS stock opened at $66.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.52. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.47 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on General Mills in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on General Mills from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $173,514.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,184 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,411.92. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total value of $3,190,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,379,054.08. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,555 shares of company stock worth $4,721,336. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About General Mills

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.