Czech National Bank Buys 7,220 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• The Czech National Bank increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. by 5.7% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 7,220 shares and bringing its total holdings to 133,826 shares worth approximately $6.93 million.
• General Mills reported $0.86 EPS in its latest quarterly results, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.82, although its revenue decreased by 6.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.60 to $0.61 per share, resulting in a 5.0% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 59.51%.

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,826 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,220 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in General Mills were worth $6,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in General Mills in the 2nd quarter worth $222,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Mills by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 522,576 shares of the company's stock worth $31,245,000 after buying an additional 35,494 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 452,844 shares of the company's stock worth $27,076,000 after buying an additional 32,628 shares during the period. Rock Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the 1st quarter worth $3,610,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its holdings in General Mills by 126.1% in the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 774,134 shares of the company's stock worth $46,285,000 after buying an additional 431,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:GIS traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.41. 15,033,316 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,702,317. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of -0.02. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.29 and a 52 week high of $75.33. The firm's 50 day moving average is $49.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The firm's revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills's payout ratio is currently 59.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GIS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Mills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.13.

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.