General Mills, Inc. $GIS Stake Boosted by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 35.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,808 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,280 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in General Mills were worth $4,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GIS. Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 17,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 22.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 29,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 5,427 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in General Mills by 23.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 24,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 4,641 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 65.6% during the third quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 24,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 9,787 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 7.5% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 88,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,857,000 after acquiring an additional 6,161 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS stock opened at $33.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.95 and a 200-day moving average of $37.87. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.17 and a 12-month high of $49.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.03.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. General Mills had a positive return on equity of 21.86% and a negative net margin of 4.89%. The company’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently -146.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on GIS shares. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on General Mills from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of General Mills from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $36.59.

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc is a global food company that manufactures and markets branded consumer foods. Its portfolio includes cereal, snack foods, refrigerated and baking products, yogurt, soup, meals, and pet food. The company’s brands include Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Old El Paso, Progresso, Annie’s, Totino’s, Häagen-Dazs, and Blue Buffalo.

General Mills sells products through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, e-commerce channels, restaurants, and other foodservice outlets.