Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 46,536 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 484,550 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,536 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $30,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in General Mills by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in General Mills by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in General Mills by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in General Mills by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 5.9% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,967,490. This represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Mills Trading Down 2.2 %

GIS stock opened at $59.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.97 and a 200-day moving average of $64.19. The company has a market cap of $32.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.15 and a twelve month high of $75.90. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is 52.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GIS. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on General Mills from $84.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 17th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.69.

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.