Simplicity Wealth LLC Acquires 19,913 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in General Mills, Inc. by 80.3%, acquiring an additional 19,913 shares, bringing its total to 44,718 shares valued at approximately $2.32 million.
• Analysts have downgraded General Mills' stock ratings, with price targets being reduced significantly by firms like UBS Group and Deutsche Bank, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold".
• General Mills announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.8%, reflecting its ongoing investment in returning value to shareholders.

Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 80.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,718 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,913 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in General Mills were worth $2,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 101.5% during the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 524 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in General Mills in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GIS shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on General Mills from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on General Mills from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Mizuho cut their price target on General Mills from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,332,313.72. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $50.38 on Monday. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.29 and a 52-week high of $73.78. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $49.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $26.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of -0.03.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 23.46%. General Mills's revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. General Mills's payout ratio is presently 46.12%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GIS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.