Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GIS. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in General Mills by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 74,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 14,919 shares during the last quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $19,784,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 55.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 33,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 11,937 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $516,000. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in General Mills by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 376,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,987,000 after buying an additional 15,700 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Trading Down 2.3 %

General Mills stock opened at $56.52 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.18. 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 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $31.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.69.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.