Blue Trust Inc. Buys 34,550 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• Blue Trust Inc. has increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. by 37.6%, acquiring 34,550 shares, bringing its total holdings to 126,523 shares worth approximately $6.55 million.
• General Mills announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share with an annualized yield of 5.0%, set to be paid on November 3rd.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for General Mills, with an average price target of $55.82 and 4 Buy ratings against 2 Sell ratings.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 37.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,523 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,550 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in General Mills were worth $6,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 101.5% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 524 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in General Mills during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC lifted its stake in General Mills by 416.7% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GIS. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price objective on shares of General Mills and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Mills from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.82.

General Mills Stock Down 1.1%

GIS stock opened at $49.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of -0.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.29 and a twelve month high of $72.55. The stock's 50 day moving average is $49.77 and its 200-day moving average is $52.81.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 46.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total transaction of $200,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,332,313.72. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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