Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 1,638 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,530 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in General Mills by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,502,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,474,177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867,678 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in General Mills by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,803,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,058,414 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in General Mills by 105.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,926,232 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in General Mills by 7.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,823,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,347,000 after purchasing an additional 263,188 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc raised its position in General Mills by 3.9% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,492,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,778,000 after purchasing an additional 92,931 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $57.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.66. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.15 and a 12-month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. General Mills’s payout ratio is 52.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GIS. Barclays decreased their price objective on 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. TD Cowen reduced their price target on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho reduced their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.88.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.