General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Position Decreased by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 33.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,600 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in General Mills were worth $6,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 8,444,312 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $377,205,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of General Mills by 22.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,650,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $955,118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,488,341 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of General Mills by 100.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,728,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,368,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,177,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $73.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $68.73 and its 200-day moving average is $68.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.33 and a 12 month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its 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. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is 55.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GIS shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.07.

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.