J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Takes $280,000 Position in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the first quarter valued at approximately $345,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in General Mills by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 24,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,903 shares of the company's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 3.4% in the first quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 6,071 shares of the company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 16.3% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Up 0.1%

GIS opened at $50.38 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $49.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.97. The company has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of -0.03. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.29 and a 1-year high of $73.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 15.24%.General Mills's revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Mills news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 4,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total transaction of $200,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 66,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,332,313.72. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 target price on shares of General Mills and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target (down from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.82.

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.

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