abrdn plc Raises Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

abrdn plc grew its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,216,559 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 241,655 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned about 0.39% of General Mills worth $144,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GIS. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its stake in General Mills by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,955,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in General Mills by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,935,000 after buying an additional 6,176 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in General Mills by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

General Mills stock traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.42. 3,992,289 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,141,963. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.30. The firm has a market cap of $39.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.15. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $90.89.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. General Mills’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s payout ratio is 54.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 93,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 93,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,057,820 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GIS shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

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.