Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC cut its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,168 shares of the company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Stock Performance

General Mills stock opened at $56.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.27. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.15 and a 52 week high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 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 firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on GIS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on General Mills in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% 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 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.