West Oak Capital LLC Grows Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,544 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 214.1% during the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in General Mills in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total value of $3,870,008.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,782 shares of company stock worth $5,057,820. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Mills Stock Performance

General Mills stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $70.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,361,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,276,320. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.33 and a twelve month high of $90.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.79. The firm has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GIS. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 11th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.18.

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.