Stiles Financial Services Inc Trims Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Stiles Financial Services Inc reduced its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 33.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,260 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,735 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc's holdings in General Mills were worth $673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its position in shares of General Mills by 69.2% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 516 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of General Mills stock traded down $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $50.38. The stock had a trading volume of 7,684,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,606,334. The stock has a market cap of $27.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.25 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $54.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.47.

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

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. This is a boost from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $51.00 target price (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.50.

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.