Foster & Motley Inc. Has $1.91 Million Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Foster & Motley Inc. reduced its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,317 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,610 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Operose Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 214.1% in the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $71.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $90.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.39. The stock has a market cap of $40.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GIS. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.18.

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