Fmr LLC Has $118.52 Million Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,858,595 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 153,825 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 0.34% of General Mills worth $118,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Norges Bank bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $496,484,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of General Mills by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,803,046 shares of the company's stock worth $497,054,000 after buying an additional 3,058,414 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 105.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $421,552,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926,232 shares during the period. Nepsis Inc. boosted its stake in General Mills by 3,504.8% during the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 2,164,395 shares of the company's stock worth $138,023,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in General Mills by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,630,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,376,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868,508 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GIS traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.52. 3,368,814 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,405,556. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.15 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. Mizuho cut their price objective on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.69.

General Mills Company 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.