Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 32.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,566 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,203 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

General Mills stock opened at $60.62 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.15 and a twelve month 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 company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. 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 posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GIS shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America dropped their price target on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.06.

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.