Columbus Macro LLC Buys 9,367 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Columbus Macro LLC raised its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 57.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,708 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,367 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in General Mills by 61.5% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of General Mills from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Mills currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.94.

General Mills Trading Down 1.5 %

GIS opened at $58.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.30. The firm has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.94 and a twelve month 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

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.