First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 452,638 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,666,144 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 452,638 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.50% of General Mills worth $134,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Close Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in General Mills during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 1,094.4% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 343.8% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.15, for a total transaction of $72,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,568 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,549.20. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research downgraded General Mills from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America lowered General Mills from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore set a $45.00 price target on General Mills in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $63.00 price objective on General Mills and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.42.

General Mills Stock Performance

General Mills stock opened at $44.29 on Monday. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.78 and a 1-year high of $67.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52 and a beta of -0.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.30.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 17th. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. General Mills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.580-3.790 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.47%.

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.