Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $12.61 Million Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 197,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,496 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $12,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in General Mills during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $59.94 on Thursday. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.94 and a 1 year high of $75.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.42.

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

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GIS shares. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.94.

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.