Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 58.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,665 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,510 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 409.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 66.3% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.33 and a 12-month high of $74.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.63.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GIS. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of General Mills from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.71.

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 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.