California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,551,699 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,712 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in General Mills were worth $231,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GIS. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in General Mills by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,051,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654,111 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in General Mills by 257.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,061,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,954,000 after purchasing an additional 765,070 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 6,893.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 512,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,361,000 after acquiring an additional 504,816 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in General Mills by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,141,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,071,000 after purchasing an additional 409,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,315,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,207,000 after acquiring an additional 380,855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the company’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 directly owns 102,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were 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 $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $71.21. The company had a trading volume of 447,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,231,851. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.01 and a 200 day moving average of $65.39. The company has a market cap of $40.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $90.89.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 54.13%.

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.