General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Sold by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management lessened its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,561 shares of the company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in General Mills were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in General Mills by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,298,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,219,113,000 after purchasing an additional 8,444,312 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 22.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,650,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,488,341 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 100.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,728,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,368,563 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 6,140.4% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 945,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,807,000 after acquiring an additional 930,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in General Mills in the first quarter valued at about $36,177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:GIS opened at $68.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.39. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.47 and a 12-month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 26.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GIS. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, CAO Mark A. Pallot sold 8,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.28, for a total value of $576,156.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,055,870.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 355,328 shares in the company, valued at $24,379,054.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mark A. Pallot sold 8,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.28, for a total transaction of $576,156.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,055,870.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 66,555 shares of company stock worth $4,657,676. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

General Mills 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.