Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 106,976 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 389,789 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,976 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of General Mills worth $24,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in General Mills by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 13,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Mills by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 641,045 shares of the company's stock worth $40,879,000 after purchasing an additional 50,987 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in General Mills by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 193,885 shares of the company's stock worth $12,364,000 after purchasing an additional 14,460 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its position in General Mills by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 817,846 shares of the company's stock worth $52,154,000 after purchasing an additional 63,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,806,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIS has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:GIS traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $58.69. 878,039 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,919,856. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.15 and a 1 year high of $75.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. General Mills's quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills's payout ratio is 52.75%.

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.