Simplicity Solutions LLC Acquires 3,275 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,962 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in General Mills in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 214.1% in the third 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 period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP raised its holdings in General Mills by 107.4% in the second quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 450 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS stock opened at $66.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $37.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.14. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $60.33 and a one year high of $90.89.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.13%.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GIS. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Barclays increased 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 report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.