Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 8,181 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Private Advisor Group LLC lessened its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,304 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,181 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $5,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 237,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,565,000 after purchasing an additional 43,086 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,926,232 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at about $547,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 129.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 184,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,649,000 after purchasing an additional 104,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $61.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.15 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $60.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is 52.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup dropped their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America dropped their price target on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.88.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.