General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,437 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,437 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Patron Partners LLC acquired a new position in General Mills in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 439.0% during the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 33,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after buying an additional 27,633 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 56,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 494.2% during the 1st quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 58,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,078,000 after purchasing an additional 48,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the 1st quarter worth $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on GIS. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of General Mills stock traded up $0.19 on Tuesday, hitting $62.69. The company had a trading volume of 3,820,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,171,151. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.09. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.33 and a twelve month high of $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.55 and a 200-day moving average of $66.63.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.76%.

General Mills Company 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.