General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Holdings Increased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 29.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 346,288 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,282 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in General Mills were worth $22,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of General Mills by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,242,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,423,000 after buying an additional 23,400 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of General Mills by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,995,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,608,000 after buying an additional 379,702 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,527,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,346,000 after buying an additional 44,933 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of General Mills by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,051,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,728,000 after buying an additional 1,654,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,102,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,519,000 after buying an additional 96,935 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $71.17 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.33 and a 12-month high of $90.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently 54.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $692,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $692,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

General Mills 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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.