General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Stake Boosted by Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 100.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,500 shares during the period. General Mills makes up 1.2% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s holdings in General Mills were worth $4,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE:GIS traded up $1.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.02. 5,218,456 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,668,790. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. 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, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.88.

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.