James Investment Research Inc. Reduces Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

James Investment Research Inc. cut its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,325 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its position in General Mills by 66.3% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors grew its position in General Mills by 400.0% in the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Mills by 47.5% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 559 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Up 0.3 %

General Mills stock opened at $68.24 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.47 and a 1-year high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $37.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.19.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total transaction of $3,190,365.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 355,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,379,054.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Mark A. Pallot sold 8,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.28, for a total transaction of $576,156.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,055,870.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total value of $3,190,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 355,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,379,054.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,555 shares of company stock worth $4,657,676. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Mills has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

General Mills 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 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.