Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Purchases 31,500 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 100.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,500 shares during the quarter. General Mills accounts for 1.2% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $4,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 27.9% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $240,000. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in General Mills by 434.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 24,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 20,090 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in General Mills in the third quarter valued at $746,000. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 8.3% during the third quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GIS shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho reduced their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $57.94 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $61.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.66. The stock has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.15 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. 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.