General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Acquired by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 834,417 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,612 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of General Mills worth $53,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

GIS stock opened at $59.09 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $32.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.67.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on GIS shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.69.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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 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.