Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Buys 50,987 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 641,045 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,987 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of General Mills worth $40,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its stake in General Mills by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS stock opened at $57.92 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.44. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.15 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. General Mills’s payout ratio is 52.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on General Mills in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.69.

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 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.