Rock Point Advisors LLC Invests $3.61 Million in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Rock Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 60,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,610,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth approximately $496,484,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in General Mills by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,123,387 shares of the company's stock worth $581,903,000 after buying an additional 2,341,137 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in General Mills by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,630,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,376,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868,508 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in General Mills by 115.2% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,817,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,680 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in General Mills by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,061,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $514,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,483 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.66. 2,600,246 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,690,844. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.02 billion and a PE ratio of 12.59. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.86 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.58.

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

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. This is a boost from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills's payout ratio is presently 59.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GIS. Wall Street Zen downgraded General Mills from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on General Mills from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup lowered their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.73.

General Mills Company 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.