KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $37.52 Million in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 588,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,517,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.11% of General Mills at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on GIS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $84.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.53.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $58.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.15 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The company has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.75%.

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.