Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 497,613 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,637 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.09% of General Mills worth $32,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC grew its position in General Mills by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 108,827 shares of the company's stock worth $7,089,000 after purchasing an additional 24,396 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its position in General Mills by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 172,955 shares of the company's stock worth $11,266,000 after purchasing an additional 16,643 shares during the period. Sippican Capital Advisors grew its position in General Mills by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 18,408 shares of the company's stock worth $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 4,345 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in General Mills by 42.0% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 470,324 shares of the company's stock worth $30,637,000 after purchasing an additional 139,103 shares during the period. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in General Mills by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 16,274 shares of the company's stock worth $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GIS shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $692,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at $6,462,899.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.51. The company had a trading volume of 3,645,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,304,202. The company has a market capitalization of $38.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.15. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.33 and a 12-month high of $90.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.22.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is 54.13%.

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