HM Payson & Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

HM Payson & Co. lowered its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,647 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,209 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in General Mills by 41.8% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 36,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 10,765 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 688,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,177,000 after buying an additional 38,021 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 16.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 696,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,711,000 after acquiring an additional 96,712 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in General Mills by 92.5% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in General Mills by 10.5% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 119,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,334 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $68.01 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.47 and a twelve month high of $75.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.18. The firm has a market cap of $37.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.10.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. General Mills’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on GIS. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on General Mills in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of General Mills from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total transaction of $3,190,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,379,054.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total value of $3,190,365.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,379,054.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mark A. Pallot sold 8,083 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.28, for a total value of $576,156.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,055,870.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,555 shares of company stock worth $4,657,676. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.