Eastern Bank Boosts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Eastern Bank boosted its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 434.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,717 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,090 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GIS. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 17,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of General Mills by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in General Mills by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 5.0% in the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 3,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LCM Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.9% during the second quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 8,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $173,514.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,700,411.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mark A. Pallot sold 8,083 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,813 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 20,055 shares of company stock valued at $1,467,311. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $69.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.47 and a 52 week high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. General Mills had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 26.85%. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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 Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.68%.

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.