Xponance Inc. Acquires 3,336 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 75,921 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $4,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 1.9% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sabal Trust CO lifted its holdings in General Mills by 7,817.6% in the 4th quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 290,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,902,000 after purchasing an additional 286,514 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 410,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,759,000 after purchasing an additional 86,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,523,044.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of General Mills 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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,057,820 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on General Mills in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.18.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE:GIS opened at $70.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.85 and a 200-day moving average of $65.31. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $90.89. 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 (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 12.66%. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.13%.

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.