JB Capital LLC Grows Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

JB Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,030 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,658 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $63,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,465,007.58. The trade was 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.

General Mills Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE GIS opened at $60.11 on Monday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.94 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.33. The stock has a market cap of $33.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is 52.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America upgraded General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.94.

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 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.