HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Buys 743 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,103 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 105.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,552,000 after buying an additional 2,926,232 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at $547,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in General Mills by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,803,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,054,000 after acquiring an additional 3,058,414 shares during the period. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 1,048,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,886,000 after acquiring an additional 290,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS opened at $59.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.15 and a twelve month high of $75.90. The company has a market capitalization of $32.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.71.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,967,490. This represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value 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. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.