Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 6,115 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 447,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,115 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.08% of General Mills worth $29,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GIS. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,051,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,728,000 after buying an additional 1,654,111 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 257.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,061,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,954,000 after buying an additional 765,070 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 6,893.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 512,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,361,000 after buying an additional 504,816 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,141,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,071,000 after buying an additional 409,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,315,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,207,000 after purchasing an additional 380,855 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. HSBC boosted their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup began coverage on General Mills in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 93,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Mills Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE GIS traded up $0.75 on Monday, hitting $71.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,637,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,282,608. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $90.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $40.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently 54.13%.

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.