CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Raises Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 714,093 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 104,366 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.13% of General Mills worth $45,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of General Mills stock traded up $0.19 on Monday, reaching $57.70. 3,885,460 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,405,127. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.15 and a 1-year high of $75.90. The company has a market cap of $31.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.75%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other 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 value of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on General Mills in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.69.

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.