Foster & Motley Inc. Lowers Position in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Foster & Motley Inc. cut its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,891 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,476 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in General Mills by 3.5% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. raised its holdings in General Mills by 4.6% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in General Mills by 0.4% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 52,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in General Mills by 0.8% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 24,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. raised its holdings in General Mills by 1.5% in the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $48.48 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.48 and a twelve month high of $70.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.65 and its 200 day moving average is $52.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of -0.03.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 46.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total value of $200,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 66,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,332,313.72. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on GIS shares. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price objective on shares of General Mills and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $59.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.82.

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.