Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,529 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $2,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GIS. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in General Mills by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 3.3% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 6,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reduced their target price on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on General Mills from $84.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE:GIS opened at $60.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.23. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.15 and a 1-year high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. General Mills’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is 52.17%.

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.