Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 30,856 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,861 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,856 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $11,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth about $7,138,000. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 7,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 14,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Mills by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 119,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Finally, Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 35,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $61.01 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.55. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.15 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The company has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GIS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.71.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.