General Mills, Inc. $GIS Holdings Lifted by Assetmark Inc.

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in General Mills by 17.8% in Q4 to 804,196 shares (about $37.4M), and other institutions (including Assenagon, which vastly increased its holding) leave hedge funds and institutions owning roughly 75.7% of the stock.
• General Mills reported an EPS miss (Q: $0.64 vs. $0.73 expected) with revenue down 8.4% YoY, prompting multiple analyst cuts and an average MarketBeat rating of "Reduce" with a $43.44 average target while the stock trades near a 12‑month low (~$34.72).
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 (annualized $2.44), implying a 7.0% yield

Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 804,196 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 121,245 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned 0.15% of General Mills worth $37,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in General Mills by 255.8% during the third quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 59,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 42,986 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $1,320,000. Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 161.9% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 333,199 shares of the company's stock worth $16,800,000 after buying an additional 205,981 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 7.7% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 346,005 shares of the company's stock worth $17,445,000 after buying an additional 24,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 2,806.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,517 shares of the company's stock worth $35,457,000 after buying an additional 736,283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Evercore set a $45.00 price target on General Mills in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on General Mills from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on General Mills from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $43.44.

General Mills Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of GIS opened at $34.72 on Wednesday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.04 and a 12-month high of $59.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.01. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.00.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.09). General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.66%.

General Mills Company Profile

General Mills, Inc NYSE: GIS is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company's portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.

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