Trust Co of the South Takes $302,000 Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Trust Co of the South purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company lifted its position in General Mills by 2.6% during the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 6,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrueWealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 4.3% during the third quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Trading Down 1.2 %

GIS stock traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,288,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,309,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.77. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $90.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 12.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total transaction of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total transaction of $492,094.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,057,820. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.50.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.