Franklin Resources Inc. Has $31.03 Million Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 0.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 438,014 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,842 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $31,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in General Mills by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 517,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,241,000 after purchasing an additional 217,774 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 29.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 53,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,939,000 after purchasing an additional 12,248 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 19.0% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,528 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 138.8% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 37,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,768,000 after buying an additional 21,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills in the third quarter worth approximately $403,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Stock Down 3.1 %

GIS stock opened at $63.91 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $66.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.17. The company has a market cap of $35.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.47 and a 12 month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 26.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 9,647 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $717,640.33. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 128,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,571,314.96. This represents a 6.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $173,514.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,700,411.92. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,555 shares of company stock worth $4,721,336 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America upgraded General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.56.

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.