Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires 1,768 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,395 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 199.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 409.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of General Mills by 66.3% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 769.2% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 65.5% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS stock opened at $73.71 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.20. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 55.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Mills from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.07.

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 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.