CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Makes New Investment in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• CHICAGO TRUST Co NA has acquired a new position in General Mills, Inc., purchasing 5,150 shares valued at approximately $267,000.
• General Mills reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.82, despite a 6.8% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Institutional investors now hold 75.71% of General Mills' stock, reflecting significant interest from established financial firms.

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in General Mills by 434.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,041,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,138,473,000 after acquiring an additional 15,480,835 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in General Mills by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,864,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $589,814,000 after acquiring an additional 741,432 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 7,161,951 shares of the company's stock worth $428,213,000 after buying an additional 315,375 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,986,128 shares of the company's stock worth $417,674,000 after buying an additional 634,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,403,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,888,000 after purchasing an additional 414,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Up 1.1%

GIS opened at $51.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of -0.02. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.29 and a twelve month high of $74.98. The company's 50-day moving average price is $49.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.58.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of General Mills from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on General Mills from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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 note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GIS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.