Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Increases Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 10.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,797 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 199.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 409.8% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. 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 report on Friday, June 28th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.71.

General Mills Stock Up 1.3 %

General Mills stock traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,645,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,912,838. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $74.45. The company has a market cap of $40.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.09. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.53.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 55.68%.

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.