Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $5.26 Million Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,703 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,438 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in General Mills were worth $5,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 214.1% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in General Mills during the third quarter worth $31,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Mills during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

General Mills Stock Up 1.1 %

GIS stock opened at $71.17 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $90.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.39. The company has a market cap of $40.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total value of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at $20,523,044.52. 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 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% 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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.