Rakuten Securities Inc. Purchases New Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in General Mills by 4.8% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its stake in General Mills by 2.1% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in General Mills by 2.3% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,935,000 after purchasing an additional 6,176 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in General Mills by 15.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GIS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup began coverage on General Mills in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $68.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $38.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.33 and a 12 month high of $90.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.22.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 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 Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s payout ratio is 54.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total transaction of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total value of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.