Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 527 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 527 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in General Mills were worth $2,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GIS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 6,114.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 450,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,266,000 after buying an additional 443,202 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 114,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,448,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 420.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 222,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,426,000 after buying an additional 179,703 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $61.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.89 and a 200-day moving average of $66.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.15 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.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Mills news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the company’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 value of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on GIS shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.88.

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.