M&T Bank Corp Lowers Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 195,108 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,670 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in General Mills were worth $11,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position 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 buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 3.4% during the 1st 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. Security National Bank of SO Dak lifted its holdings in General Mills by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 31,290 shares of the company's stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canopy Partners LLC boosted its stake in General Mills by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS stock traded up $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $51.39. 7,258,139 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,692,112. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.43. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.89 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $27.87 billion and a P/E ratio of 12.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.65 and a 200 day moving average of $57.66.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. General Mills's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. This is a positive change from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is 58.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on GIS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price target on General Mills and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price target (down from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on General Mills from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.