&Partners Grows Stock Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

&Partners increased its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 39.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,070 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,475 shares during the period. &Partners’ holdings in General Mills were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Joule Financial LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 6.7% in the second quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 4,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. American National Bank boosted its position in General Mills by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 163,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Price Performance

General Mills stock opened at $70.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.09. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $74.45.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America dropped their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.71.

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 savory snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, unbaked and fully baked frozen dough products, frozen hot snacks, ethnic meals, side dish mixes, frozen breakfast and entrees, nutrition bars, and frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.