HF Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

HF Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 550.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,156 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 66,981 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,862,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of General Mills by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,415,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546,993 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in General Mills by 22.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,628,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,913 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in General Mills by 15.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,956,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,548,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in General Mills by 67.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,213,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,682,000 after purchasing an additional 894,633 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Trading Up 0.1%

GIS opened at $37.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.63 and a 52 week high of $62.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.88. The firm has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 0.01.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. General Mills’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on GIS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of General Mills from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of General Mills from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Mills presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $43.56.

General Mills Company Profile

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.