Welch Group LLC Has $43.41 Million Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Welch Group LLC lessened its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 684,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,730 shares during the quarter. General Mills accounts for about 2.0% of Welch Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.12% of General Mills worth $43,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the second quarter valued at about $3,202,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 5.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 113,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,374,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills during the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Down 0.4 %

GIS opened at $59.91 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.34. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.94 and a twelve month high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $33.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.10. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $63,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.94.

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.