Leavell Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills in the second quarter valued at about $222,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 7.3% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 522,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,245,000 after buying an additional 35,494 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 452,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,076,000 after buying an additional 32,628 shares during the period. Rock Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,610,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its holdings in General Mills by 126.1% in the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 774,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,285,000 after acquiring an additional 431,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GIS shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of General Mills from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on General Mills from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.82.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS opened at $47.42 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.53 and a 200-day moving average of $51.93. The company has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of -0.03. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.27 and a 1-year high of $68.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.52 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.12%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total value of $200,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,332,313.72. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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 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.