Mackenzie Financial Corp Purchases 139,103 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 470,324 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 139,103 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.08% of General Mills worth $30,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in General Mills by 4.8% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 45.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its stake in General Mills by 2.1% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in General Mills by 2.3% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,935,000 after acquiring an additional 6,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 15.3% during 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. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GIS. Bank of America upped their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup began coverage on General Mills in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. HSBC upped their target price on General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.18.

General Mills Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $68.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.15. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.33 and a twelve month high of $90.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.22. 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 (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $692,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 93,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,057,820 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.