General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc reduced its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 67.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 287,390 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in General Mills were worth $8,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.1% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 3.3% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 6,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GIS shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America decreased their price target on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills 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 sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

General Mills stock opened at $61.32 on Tuesday. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $55.15 and a one year high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.48. The company has a market cap of $33.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

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.