Cwm LLC Sells 42,706 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Cwm LLC lowered its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,706 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $16,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GIS. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,935,000 after purchasing an additional 6,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:GIS opened at $70.42 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.33. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $90.89. The firm has a market cap of $39.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued 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 net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.35%. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 54.13%.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 93,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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. Insiders sold a total of 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GIS shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen raised 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. HSBC raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” 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 company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

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