Sienna Gestion Trims Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion has reduced its stake in General Mills, Inc. by 12.6%, holding 81,636 shares valued at approximately $4.75 million after selling 11,735 shares in the first quarter.
• General Mills recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend and resulting in an annual yield of 4.9%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on General Mills, with price targets ranging from $49.00 to $61.00, while the average consensus rating remains at "Hold".

Sienna Gestion cut its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,636 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,735 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion's holdings in General Mills were worth $4,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 3.5% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.6% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of General Mills by 0.4% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 52,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of General Mills by 0.8% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 24,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of General Mills by 1.5% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE:GIS traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.65. 6,919,055 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,356,550. The firm has a market cap of $26.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of -0.01. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.59 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $51.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. General Mills had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 11.78%. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. This is an increase 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 is presently 59.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised General Mills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Bank of America decreased their target price on General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised General Mills from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 target price on General Mills and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.73.

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.