DDD Partners LLC Takes $21.78 Million Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

DDD Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 341,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,776,000. General Mills makes up about 2.7% of DDD Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. DDD Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of General Mills as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in General Mills by 61.5% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on GIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Mills Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of GIS stock traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $59.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,953,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,652,125. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $61.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.66. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.15 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

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.