Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Trims Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lessened its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 31.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,687 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Mills from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Bank of America reduced their target price on General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Mizuho reduced their target price on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 target price on General Mills and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.73.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $51.60 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.86 and a 1-year high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.41.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. General Mills had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.51%.

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 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.