Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 990 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 22,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth $503,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 9,143.2% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 13,532 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth $237,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE:GIS opened at $58.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.15. The stock has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.85 and a 52 week high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GIS shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Mills presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.13.

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.