Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,947 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,017 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,947 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 108,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,089,000 after buying an additional 24,396 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 172,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,266,000 after buying an additional 16,643 shares in the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 4,345 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 470,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,637,000 after purchasing an additional 139,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 16,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 have sold 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.18.

General Mills Price Performance

General Mills stock opened at $67.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.33 and a 12-month high of $90.89.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.13%.

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.