General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) CEO Sells $739,635.00 in Stock

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $60.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $33.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.26 and its 200 day moving average is $65.83. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.15 and a 52 week high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 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 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.24.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GIS. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Probity Advisors Inc. raised its stake in General Mills by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 14,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 27,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123 shares in the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth about $386,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.