Diversified Trust Co Acquires Shares of 19,384 General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 19,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,356,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GIS. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 199.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 769.2% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of General Mills from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.44.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $63.42. 1,005,656 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,200,828. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.74. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $77.63. The company has a market cap of $35.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.09.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.76%.

About General Mills

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.