Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Raises Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,661 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Mills during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS opened at $58.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $61.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.87. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.85 and a 12-month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GIS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.13.

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 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.