Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 26,821 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 369,130 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,821 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.07% of General Mills worth $23,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GIS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $496,484,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of General Mills by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,803,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,054,000 after acquiring an additional 3,058,414 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 105.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,552,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926,232 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in General Mills by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,502,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,474,177,000 after acquiring an additional 2,867,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nepsis Inc. boosted its stake in General Mills by 3,504.8% in the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 2,164,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,023,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE:GIS opened at $59.83 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. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.15 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.75%.

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.