Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 675 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Bard Financial Services Inc. cut its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 107,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 675 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $6,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. First Foundation Advisors increased its stake in General Mills by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total transaction of $3,190,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 355,328 shares in the company, valued at $24,379,054.08. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,624 shares of company stock worth $3,897,326. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Stock Down 2.9 %

GIS stock traded down $1.84 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $62.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,206,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,877,279. The company has a market cap of $34.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $65.27 and its 200-day moving average is $67.92.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GIS shares. Bank of America raised shares of General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lowered their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.56.

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.