Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Boosts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 53.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,074,551 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 374,553 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.19% of General Mills worth $68,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $57.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.93. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on GIS shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday. They set an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.