Terra Alpha Investments LLC Purchases New Shares in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Terra Alpha Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 23,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,491,000. General Mills makes up about 1.5% of Terra Alpha Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $59.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.15 and a 1-year high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $32.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.71.

General Mills 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.