Ceera Investments LLC Buys 18,265 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Ceera Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 238.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,931 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,265 shares during the period. Ceera Investments LLC's holdings in General Mills were worth $1,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 516 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on GIS shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded General Mills from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.73.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $53.13. The company had a trading volume of 3,595,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,652,483. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.67. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $50.19 and a one year high of $75.90. The firm has a market cap of $28.82 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $53.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.87.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This is an increase from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. General Mills's payout ratio is presently 58.54%.

General Mills 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.