Sigma Planning Corp Sells 26,007 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 56.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,691 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,007 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GIS. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,051,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,111 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in General Mills by 257.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,061,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,954,000 after acquiring an additional 765,070 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 6,893.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 512,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,361,000 after acquiring an additional 504,816 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in General Mills by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,141,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,071,000 after acquiring an additional 409,588 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,315,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,207,000 after acquiring an additional 380,855 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.18.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $71.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.33 and a 1-year high of $90.89. The company has a market capitalization of $40.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.39.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.13%.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 93,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 93,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,057,820. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Company 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.