Alps Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 546,872 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,683 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $25,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smith Moore & CO. increased its stake in General Mills by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 8,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 0.7% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group increased its stake in General Mills by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 4,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $342,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,947,288.54. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $275,827.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 62,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,763.50. The trade was a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of General Mills from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of General Mills from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $39.39.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $33.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of -0.03. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.75 and a 1-year high of $55.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.04.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). General Mills had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 12.05%.The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.