Aurora Investment Counsel Cuts Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Aurora Investment Counsel trimmed its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 45.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,832 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,806 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel's holdings in General Mills were worth $354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its stake in General Mills by 101.5% during the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 524 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GIS. Mizuho decreased their price objective on General Mills from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America dropped their price target on General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised General Mills from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on General Mills from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.82.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total value of $200,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,593 shares in the company, valued at $3,332,313.72. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $48.82 on Tuesday. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.48 and a 1 year high of $70.35. The firm has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.23, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of -0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.18.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.52 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 15.24%.General Mills's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is 46.12%.

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.

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