Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS – Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,352 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,531 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 1.1% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in General Mills by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 0.8% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Mills by 1.7% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS stock opened at $61.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.31 and its 200 day moving average is $67.45. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.94 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.94.

View Our Latest Stock Report on GIS

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

About General Mills

(Free Report)

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.

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