Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $58.56 Million Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 792,993 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,847 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.14% of General Mills worth $58,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. First Foundation Advisors grew its stake in General Mills by 400.0% in the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in General Mills by 61.5% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Down 0.6 %

GIS opened at $63.61 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.47 and a twelve month high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $35.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. General Mills’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total value of $3,190,365.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,379,054.08. The trade was a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,230 shares of company stock valued at $4,547,822 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GIS. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.56.

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.