General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Purchased by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,824 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GIS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth $377,205,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in General Mills by 106.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,442,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,345 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in General Mills by 257.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,061,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,954,000 after purchasing an additional 765,070 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in General Mills by 165.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,049,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,381,000 after purchasing an additional 654,550 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 6,893.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 512,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,361,000 after buying an additional 504,816 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of GIS stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.17. 2,949,497 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,208,712. The stock has a market cap of $35.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.72. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $77.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS 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 return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 54.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.44.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,706.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.