ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,137 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 41.8% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 36,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after buying an additional 10,765 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in General Mills by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 688,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,177,000 after acquiring an additional 38,021 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in General Mills by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 696,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,711,000 after acquiring an additional 96,712 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in General Mills by 92.5% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,409,000 after acquiring an additional 23,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $764,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of GIS opened at $71.00 on Thursday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.47 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $72.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 55.68%.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 9,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $717,640.33. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 128,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,571,314.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $173,514.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,184 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,411.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 9,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $717,640.33. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 128,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,571,314.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Mills from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on General Mills in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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.