New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 488,698 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,343 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.09% of General Mills worth $31,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in General Mills by 61.5% in the 3rd 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. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS traded up $1.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.02. 5,218,456 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,668,790. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.15 and a 1 year high of $75.90. The business's 50 day moving average price is $61.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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 dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.