Capital Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 2,835 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Capital Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 94,308 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,835 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $6,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in General Mills by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 42,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,528 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of General Mills by 70.3% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 8,887 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 17.5% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 39,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,480,000 after buying an additional 5,849 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 0.8% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 2.6% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $59.84 on Wednesday. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.94 and a twelve month high of $75.90. The company has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.29 and a 200 day moving average of $67.44. 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 (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.01%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America raised General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other General Mills news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.