Natixis Boosts Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Natixis raised its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 169,573 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,228 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in General Mills were worth $10,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GIS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Mills Stock Performance

General Mills stock traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $56.36. 3,532,080 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,400,541. The stock has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. The firm's 50 day moving average is $59.40 and its 200 day moving average is $62.62. 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 52-week low of $55.15 and a 52-week high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.75%.

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.