Community Bank N.A. Lowers Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Community Bank N.A. decreased its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $532,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in General Mills by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 808,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,569,000 after acquiring an additional 20,734 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $37,517,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $607,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in General Mills by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 414,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,453,000 after acquiring an additional 33,292 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS opened at $58.78 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $55.15 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.23. The company has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 52.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 17th. TD Cowen lowered their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.53.

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.