Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 2,321 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,881 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in General Mills by 16.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,298,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,219,113,000 after buying an additional 8,444,312 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $377,205,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in General Mills by 106.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,442,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,345 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in General Mills by 165.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,049,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,381,000 after purchasing an additional 654,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in General Mills by 6,893.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 512,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,361,000 after purchasing an additional 504,816 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:GIS traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $63.95. 1,548,767 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,096,779. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.52. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.33 and a twelve month high of $77.63. The company has a market capitalization of $35.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.09.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GIS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays cut their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.82.

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.