Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $22.35 Million Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 350,438 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,268 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.06% of General Mills worth $22,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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 $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho decreased their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Up 3.1 %

GIS traded up $1.83 on Friday, hitting $61.02. 5,218,456 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,668,790. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The company has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock's fifty day moving average is $61.01 and its 200-day moving average is $66.61.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is 52.17%.

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.