Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 900 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Mills by 46.7% during the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. bought a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE GIS opened at $60.08 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.53. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.94 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.11.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.31.

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.