Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Takes $203,000 Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,242,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,423,000 after acquiring an additional 23,400 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,995,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,608,000 after acquiring an additional 379,702 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,527,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,346,000 after acquiring an additional 44,933 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,051,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,102,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,519,000 after acquiring an additional 96,935 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total transaction of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 17,726 shares of company stock worth $1,187,811 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GIS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.18.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $70.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $90.89.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.13%.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.