Echo Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Echo Wealth Management LLC raised its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 39.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,396 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,474 shares during the quarter. General Mills accounts for approximately 1.8% of Echo Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Echo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $2,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in General Mills by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 42,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,664,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 70.3% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 8,887 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in General Mills by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,206,000 after purchasing an additional 69,902 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,657,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in General Mills by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,629,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,151,000 after purchasing an additional 323,090 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.94.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $60.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.11. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.94 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $63,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,007.58. The trade was a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.