Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Has $1.83 Million Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in General Mills, Inc. by 33.1%, ending the quarter with 30,576 shares, valued at approximately $1.83 million.
• General Mills reported $0.74 earnings per share, surpassing expectations, but revenues declined 3.3% year-over-year to $4.56 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.61 per share, reflecting a 4.9% yield based on an annual payout of $2.44.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 33.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,576 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,122 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in General Mills were worth $1,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in General Mills by 434.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,041,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,138,473,000 after acquiring an additional 15,480,835 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in General Mills by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,123,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $581,903,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341,137 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in General Mills by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,061,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $514,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,483 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in General Mills by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,846,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,606,000 after acquiring an additional 561,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in General Mills by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,403,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,888,000 after acquiring an additional 414,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Wall Street Zen raised General Mills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on General Mills from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Bank of America lowered their price target on General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $51.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.73.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.65. 6,919,055 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,226,817. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.59 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $51.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of -0.01.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.60 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This is a boost from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.51%.

About General Mills

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.