Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Key Points

• Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in General Mills by 9.2%, selling 5,292 shares and now holds 52,243 shares valued at approximately $3.12 million.
• General Mills recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61, which increases its annualized dividend to $2.44 and yields 4.78%.
• The company reported earnings of $0.74 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, though its revenue decreased by 3.3% year-over-year.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,243 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,292 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GIS. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 69.2% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 516 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position in General Mills by 1,096.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 598 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS traded down $1.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,892,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,590,252. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.56. The stock has a market cap of $27.07 billion and a PE ratio of 12.17. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills's payout ratio is currently 59.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut General Mills from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price target on General Mills and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.73.

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.