General Mills, Inc. $GIS Shares Sold by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Asset Management One cut its stake in General Mills by 13.2% in Q4, selling 52,823 shares and leaving it with 345,957 shares worth about $16.23 million; institutional investors own roughly 75.7% of the company.
• General Mills missed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.64 EPS versus a $0.73 consensus and revenue of $4.44 billion, down 8.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 (annualized $2.44, ~6.9% yield), while analysts have cut targets and the stock carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average target of $43.44.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 345,957 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,823 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of General Mills worth $16,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GIS. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 1,094.4% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 645 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE GIS opened at $35.27 on Tuesday. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.04 and a 1-year high of $58.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.01. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $40.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.57.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). General Mills had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 12.05%.The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is 59.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on GIS shares. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Evercore set a $45.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $43.44.

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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