Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 3,425 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,425 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.08% of General Mills worth $27,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in General Mills by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in General Mills by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 111,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,247,000 after buying an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in General Mills by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 9,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 123,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,044,000 after acquiring an additional 22,060 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut 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 note on Thursday, June 27th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on General Mills in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.71.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $72.29 on Monday. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $74.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.81 and its 200 day moving average is $67.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

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