Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Takes $456,000 Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 409.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Mills by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of General Mills stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.98. 3,133,910 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,083,241. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $60.33 and a one year high of $75.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.09. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.55.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.68%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.82.

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.