General Mills, Inc. $GIS Position Cut by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its position in General Mills by 3.0%, selling 47,027 shares and leaving 1,525,367 shares (about 0.29% of the company) worth roughly $70.93 million per its latest 13F filing.
• General Mills missed the quarter (EPS $0.64 vs. $0.73 est.; revenue $4.44B vs. $4.53B, down 8.4% YoY) and multiple brokers trimmed price targets, leaving a consensus rating of “Reduce” with a $43.44 consensus target.
• The stock is trading near its 52‑week low (opened $34.72; 1‑yr low $34.04), has a PE of 8.49 and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.61 (annualized yield ~7.0%, payout ratio ~59.7%).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,525,367 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,027 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.29% of General Mills worth $70,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GIS. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its position in General Mills by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,442 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 4.2% in the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 5,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 8,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 0.7% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the company's stock worth $1,702,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 5.7% during the third quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the company's stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on GIS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. BTIG Research began coverage on General Mills in a research report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Mizuho lowered their price target on General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $43.44.

General Mills Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of GIS stock opened at $34.72 on Wednesday. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.04 and a 1 year high of $59.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.56. The business's fifty day moving average is $41.58 and its 200-day moving average is $45.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.01.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. General Mills's 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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