Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Acquires 12,992 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 243.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,333 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,992 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in General Mills by 3.5% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its stake in General Mills by 4.6% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 3.4% in the first quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 6,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak increased its stake in General Mills by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 31,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canopy Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $50.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.30 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.14 and its 200-day moving average is $57.12. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $49.62 and a one year high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. General Mills had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills’s payout ratio is 59.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GIS shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Mills from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.73.

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.