Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 792,993 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 27,847 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.14% of General Mills worth $58,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Foundation Advisors increased its position in shares of General Mills by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake 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 bought a new position in General Mills during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Mills by 46.7% during the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays cut their price target on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.56.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of General Mills stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Monday, hitting $63.55. The stock had a trading volume of 3,380,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,981,685. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.47 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The firm has a market cap of $35.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.10. The business's 50-day moving average is $66.47 and its 200 day moving average is $68.11.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 9,647 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $717,640.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 128,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,571,314.96. This represents a 6.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were 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 $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,271 shares of company stock valued at $4,614,966 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.