Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $1.90 Million Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 948 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 value of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Mills Price Performance

General Mills stock opened at $59.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.19 and its 200 day moving average is $65.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $55.15 and a one year high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GIS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays cut their target price on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.24.

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.