Rockland Trust Co. Sells 2,262 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Rockland Trust Co. trimmed its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 161,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,262 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $11,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,298,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,219,113,000 after acquiring an additional 8,444,312 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,488,341 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in General Mills by 100.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,728,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,368,563 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in General Mills by 6,140.4% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 945,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,807,000 after purchasing an additional 930,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 1st quarter valued at $36,177,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on GIS. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.73.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 36,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,700,411.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 9,647 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $717,640.33. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 128,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,571,314.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,184 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,411.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $73.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $71.60 and its 200-day moving average is $69.04. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. General Mills’s payout ratio 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.