Swedbank AB Makes New $36.18 Million Investment in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 517,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,177,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the first quarter worth $237,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 1st quarter worth $521,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 1,938.9% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 27,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 26,272 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 92.5% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,409,000 after acquiring an additional 23,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 260.3% in the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,807,000 after acquiring an additional 28,986 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GIS. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.82.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $69.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.09. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $75.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.66.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.68%.

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.