General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Purchased by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,498 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,675 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $12,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GIS. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in General Mills by 61.5% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $59.64 on Tuesday. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $57.94 and a one year high of $75.90. The company has a market cap of $32.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,379,054.08. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,541 shares of company stock valued at $3,321,170 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America upgraded General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.31.

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.