Swedbank AB Buys 41,394 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, owning 584,335 shares worth approximately $34.9 million after additional purchases.
• General Mills has recently seen several analyst rating changes, including a downgrade from Stifel Nicolaus and a reclassification from a "sell" to a "hold" by Wall Street Zen, which indicates shifting market perceptions about the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.61 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.9%, an improvement over the previous quarterly dividend of $0.60.

Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 584,335 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,394 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.11% of General Mills worth $34,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in General Mills in the first quarter worth $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills in the first quarter worth $34,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills in the first quarter worth $37,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $50.01. 2,711,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,622,040. The stock's fifty day moving average is $49.83 and its 200 day moving average is $53.99. The stock has a market cap of $27.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of -0.02. 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 1-year low of $48.29 and a 1-year high of $75.33.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of General Mills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of General Mills from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 target price 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 cut their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 report on Thursday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.80.

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.