Flputnam Investment Management Co. Raises Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,955 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,643 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in General Mills were worth $11,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 123,599.0% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,076,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $928,723,000 after acquiring an additional 11,067,051 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 0.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,852,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,907,000 after acquiring an additional 75,902 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,249,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $691,725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,169 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 5.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,995,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $511,608,000 after acquiring an additional 379,702 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 101.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,935,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $592,673,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,741 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GIS. Barclays increased their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.18.

General Mills Stock Up 1.7 %

General Mills stock traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $67.31. 4,510,278 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,314,457. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.33 and a 12 month high of $90.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $66.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.17. The company has a market cap of $38.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total value of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total transaction of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,602,574.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.