Edgestream Partners L.P. Takes Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $630,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 3.5% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,411 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 3.4% during the first quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 6,071 shares of the company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak increased its holdings in General Mills by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 31,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,995,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canopy Partners LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of General Mills from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $67.00 to $63.00 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 stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.73.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS traded down $0.96 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.14. The company had a trading volume of 6,256,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,612,243. The firm's fifty day moving average is $53.05 and its 200 day moving average is $56.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion and a PE ratio of 11.99. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a positive change from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. General Mills's payout ratio is presently 59.51%.

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.