Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 247,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,806,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the third quarter worth $272,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 27.2% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 3.3% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 33,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth $989,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 94.7% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,110,000 after purchasing an additional 20,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Down 2.2 %

General Mills stock opened at $59.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $32.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.19. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.69.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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 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.