General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Holdings Raised by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,722 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Mills by 214.1% in the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on General Mills in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 93,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,726 shares of company stock worth $1,187,811. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Mills Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of GIS opened at $70.84 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $90.89. The company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.15.

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

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. General Mills’s payout ratio 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.