General Mills, Inc. $GIS Stake Raised by Value Partners Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in General Mills, Inc. by 23.7% during the second quarter, bringing its total shares to 73,000 valued at $3.78 million.
• General Mills reported $0.74 earnings per share, beating estimates, but revenue declined 3.3% year-over-year, totaling $4.56 billion.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.61, with an annualized yield of 4.9%, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 3.5% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,411 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 4.6% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 0.4% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 52,298 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 0.8% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 24,817 shares of the company's stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.5% in the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,452 shares of the company's stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on General Mills from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 target price on General Mills and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised General Mills from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.13.

General Mills Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE GIS traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.64. 5,031,824 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,645,843. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.29 and a 1 year high of $75.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.90.

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

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.51%.

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.