Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $873,000 Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,684 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in General Mills were worth $873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $59.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a PEG 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.44. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $57.94 and a one year high of $75.90.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on GIS. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This trade represents 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the 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 approximately $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.