Korea Investment CORP Raises Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 298,130 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,961 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.05% of General Mills worth $19,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $59.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $32.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.67. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.15 and a 52 week high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GIS. Morgan Stanley started coverage on General Mills in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.69.

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.