Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 384 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

General Mills stock opened at $60.96 on Thursday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.15 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $33.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GIS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were 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 owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.