Empirical Finance LLC Cuts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Empirical Finance LLC lessened its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,709 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake 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. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 66.3% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS stock opened at $72.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.09. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $74.45. 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 price of $66.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.43.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of General Mills from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America lowered their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.71.

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.