EP Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,457 shares of the company’s stock after selling 411 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 199.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 409.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in General Mills by 769.2% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the company’s 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 owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,706.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.82.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.32. 2,548,167 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,574,117. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $65.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $37.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.09. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $76.15.

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

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.68%.

General Mills Company 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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.