First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Reduces Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. decreased its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in General Mills by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its position in General Mills by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 5,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its stake in General Mills by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 48,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 6,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Down 0.1 %

General Mills stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $63.08. 2,521,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,734,770. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.68. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $77.63.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In related news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

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