General Mills, Inc. $GIS Shares Bought by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. by 2.0%, now owning 595,960 shares valued at approximately $30.88 million.
• Analysts are showing mixed sentiments towards General Mills, with target price reductions from UBS, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold."
• General Mills declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.61 per share, reflecting a 4.8% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 59.51%.

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 595,960 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,625 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.11% of General Mills worth $30,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 52,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 24,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE:GIS traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $50.13. 4,783,939 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,696,385. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.29 and a 1 year high of $74.98.

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

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills's payout ratio is 46.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GIS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded General Mills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on General Mills from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price target on General Mills and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.13.

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.