Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 57.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,410,009 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 880,090 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.44% of General Mills worth $124,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in General Mills during the second quarter valued at $417,508,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 7.8% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 452,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,076,000 after purchasing an additional 32,628 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in General Mills by 22.6% in the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 383,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,889,000 after buying an additional 70,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the second quarter valued at $439,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total value of $200,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,332,313.72. This trade represents a 5.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $45.94 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.09 and a 200 day moving average of $50.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of -0.07. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.60 and a 12 month high of $67.35.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently 46.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GIS shares. HSBC cut their price target on General Mills from $59.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target (down from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.82.

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.