Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Buys 539 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,587 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of GIS stock opened at $59.64 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.97 and a 200-day moving average of $64.11. 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 stock has a market cap of $32.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.15 and a 1-year high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders 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 4.02%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, March 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.69.

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.