Trust Co. of Vermont Grows Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,770 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in General Mills by 61.5% in the 3rd 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. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Mills by 46.7% during the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the second quarter worth $42,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $59.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.11. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.94 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.31.

Insider Activity

In other General Mills news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,541 shares of company stock valued at $3,321,170. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.