California State Teachers Retirement System Trims Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 939,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,209 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in General Mills were worth $65,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 199.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 409.8% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 66.3% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GIS shares. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of General Mills from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.82.

General Mills Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GIS traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $66.54. The stock had a trading volume of 180,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,069,233. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $75.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.63 and its 200-day moving average is $66.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.09.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.68%.

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.