Portfolio Design Labs LLC Boosts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 54.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,861 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,449 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $2,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 61.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GIS. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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 note on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.13.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS stock opened at $59.37 on Wednesday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.85 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $62.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

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.