Bard Financial Services Inc. Reduces Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Bard Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 44,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,650 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,298,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,219,113,000 after buying an additional 8,444,312 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 22.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,650,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $955,118,000 after buying an additional 2,488,341 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 6.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,629,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,151,000 after buying an additional 323,090 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,413,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,478,000 after buying an additional 148,235 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 7.4% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,362,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,459,000 after buying an additional 369,628 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 9,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $717,640.33. Following the sale, the insider now owns 128,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,571,314.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $173,514.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,184 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,411.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 9,647 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $717,640.33. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 128,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,571,314.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GIS. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on General Mills in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on General Mills from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.73.

General Mills Stock Performance

GIS traded up $0.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,413,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,961,171. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.08. The company has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.66.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.68%.

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.