Meridian Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,646 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in General Mills by 1.1% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $999,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in General Mills by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in General Mills by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in General Mills by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Stock Performance

General Mills stock opened at $62.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $34.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.46 and its 200-day moving average is $66.18.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GIS shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.06.

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.