Everence Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Everence Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,750 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $2,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Operose Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 214.1% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP boosted its position in General Mills by 107.4% during the 2nd quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GIS. Bank of America lifted their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. HSBC raised their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $67.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $66.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66. 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 announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 12.66%. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the business’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 value of $3,870,008.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.