Stephens Inc. AR Has $6.51 Million Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 41.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,864 shares of the company's stock after selling 76,748 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in General Mills were worth $6,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $11,178,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in General Mills by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 58,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,702,000 after acquiring an additional 29,476 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA grew its holdings in General Mills by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 14,292 shares of the company's stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 148,861 shares of the company's stock worth $9,493,000 after acquiring an additional 18,651 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $51.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion and a P/E ratio of 12.59. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.86 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.67.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. General Mills's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.73%. General Mills's payout ratio is 59.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price objective on shares of General Mills and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.

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