Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 189,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,132 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $12,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.1% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in General Mills by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Mills by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 2.6% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Up 0.5 %

GIS stock opened at $59.62 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.94 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $63.47 and its 200 day moving average is $67.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $32.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.11.

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

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. General Mills’s 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 company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 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 on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GIS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America raised General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.31.

About General Mills

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.