HF Advisory Group LLC Boosts Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

HF Advisory Group LLC grew its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,260 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in General Mills by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 45.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its stake in General Mills by 2.1% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,955,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in General Mills by 2.3% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,935,000 after buying an additional 6,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in General Mills by 15.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total transaction of $492,094.65. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total value of $3,870,008.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,057,820 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:GIS opened at $69.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.24. The stock has a market cap of $39.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.15. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $90.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 12.66%. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GIS shares. Barclays increased their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. HSBC increased their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.