Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 26,821 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 369,130 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,821 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in General Mills were worth $23,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 1,053.1% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 2,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 2,380 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 38,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth $496,484,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of General Mills by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the period. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $362,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:GIS opened at $59.83 on Tuesday. General Mills, Inc. has a one year low of $55.15 and a one year high of $75.90. 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 company has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.52.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. General Mills’s payout ratio is 52.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho decreased their price target on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.69.

General Mills 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 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.