Capital Research Global Investors Has $544.56 Million Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Capital Research Global Investors reduced its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 53.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,539,371 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,662,470 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 1.55% of General Mills worth $544,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of GIS stock traded down $0.92 on Thursday, reaching $56.36. 3,531,888 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,400,539. The business's 50 day moving average price is $59.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.62. The company has a market capitalization of $31.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.15 and a 12-month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm's revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.00.

General Mills Profile

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.