Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 5,989 General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 46.7% in the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.94.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $60.66. 3,233,140 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,354,651. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $33.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.11. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.94 and a 1-year high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. General Mills's payout ratio is 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

General Mills Company 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.