Cornerstone Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in General Mills by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,413,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,478,000 after buying an additional 148,235 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of General Mills by 2.2% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,560,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,210,000 after purchasing an additional 76,074 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of General Mills by 11.4% in the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 49,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its position in shares of General Mills by 32.2% in the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 22,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 5,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of General Mills by 6.4% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 29,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:GIS opened at $74.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $68.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.28. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.10.

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

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on General Mills in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.60.

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.