Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Decreases Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lessened its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,157 shares of the company’s stock after selling 529 shares during the quarter. General Mills comprises approximately 0.9% of Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in General Mills were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Wynn Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth $341,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its stake in General Mills by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 41,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,771 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth $524,000. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at $6,602,574.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 17,726 shares of company stock worth $1,187,811 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:GIS traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $71.61. 4,415,968 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,277,180. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.45. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.33 and a twelve month high of $90.89. The company has a market capitalization of $40.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 54.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GIS. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.