Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 38,875 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its General Mills stake by 3.4%, selling 38,875 shares in the third quarter; it retained 1,098,382 shares valued at about $35.3 million.
• General Mills beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $0.75 and revenue of $4.39 billion, though revenue declined 2.8% year over year.
• The company’s quarterly dividend was $0.61 per share, equivalent to a 6.7% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Reduce,” with an average price target of $36.59.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,098,382 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,875 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.21% of General Mills worth $35,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,181,608,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,672,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,344,000 after acquiring an additional 143,265 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,200,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,335,000 after acquiring an additional 58,608 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 41.0% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,140,772 shares of the company's stock worth $144,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the second quarter worth $129,298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $36.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion and a PE ratio of -22.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.42. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.17 and a 12-month high of $49.59.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. General Mills had a negative net margin of 4.89% and a positive return on equity of 21.86%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 13th. General Mills's payout ratio is presently -146.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded General Mills from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $34.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $35.00 target price on General Mills in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on General Mills from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $36.59.

General Mills Profile

General Mills, Inc is a global food company that manufactures and markets branded consumer foods. Its portfolio includes cereal, snack foods, refrigerated and baking products, yogurt, soup, meals, and pet food. The company's brands include Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Old El Paso, Progresso, Annie's, Totino's, Häagen-Dazs, and Blue Buffalo.

General Mills sells products through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, e-commerce channels, restaurants, and other foodservice outlets.

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