CCM Investment Group LLC Makes New Investment in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Key Points

• CCM Investment Group LLC has acquired 52,315 shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS), valued at approximately $3,092,000, marking a significant investment in the company.
• Institutional investors now hold 75.71% of General Mills' stock, with Charles Schwab Investment Management increasing its holdings by 434.8%.
• General Mills recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.61 per share, yielding 4.9%, reflecting a positive change in shareholder returns.

CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 52,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,092,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GIS. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in General Mills by 69.2% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 516 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE:GIS traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.22. The stock had a trading volume of 6,276,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,285,617. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.59 and a 1-year high of $75.90. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $51.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of -0.01.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. General Mills had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. General Mills's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on GIS. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 target price on shares of General Mills and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Mills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $51.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.73.

General Mills Company Profile

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.