Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Acquires 5,981 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,461 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its holdings in General Mills by 434.2% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 24,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 20,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business’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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $57.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.72. The stock has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. 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.