General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Purchased by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI significantly increased its holdings in General Mills, Inc. by 2,404.6%, acquiring an additional 136,244 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 141,910 shares valued at approximately $8.5 million.
• General Mills recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.60 to $0.61, yielding 4.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of 59.51%.
• Several analysts have downgraded their price targets for General Mills, with a current average price target of $59.73 and the stock receiving a consensus rating of "Hold".

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 2,404.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 141,910 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 136,244 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in General Mills were worth $8,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in General Mills by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its position in General Mills by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its position in General Mills by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 24,817 shares of the company's stock worth $1,484,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in General Mills by 1.5% in the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,452 shares of the company's stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 6,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of General Mills from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price target on shares of General Mills and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Mills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.73.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS traded down $0.35 on Friday, reaching $49.80. 3,781,604 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,367,337. 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's fifty day moving average price is $51.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.92. The stock has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of -0.01. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.59 and a twelve month high of $75.90.

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

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid 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 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. General Mills's payout ratio is presently 59.51%.

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.