Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $48.71 Million Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 696,170 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 96,712 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of General Mills worth $48,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 199.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 409.8% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,227,706.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.82.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,361,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,124,797. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $66.39 and a 200-day moving average of $66.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $35.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.09. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.33 and a 12-month high of $77.63.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. General Mills's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.68%.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.