General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,763 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,820 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Mills were worth $10,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GIS. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 41.8% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 36,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after buying an additional 10,765 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 237,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,565,000 after purchasing an additional 43,086 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 129.9% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 184,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,649,000 after purchasing an additional 104,436 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in General Mills by 10.5% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 119,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Mills by 105.8% in the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 144,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,697,000 after buying an additional 74,456 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total value of $3,190,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 355,328 shares in the company, valued at $24,379,054.08. The trade was a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,007.58. This represents a 4.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 67,555 shares of company stock worth $4,721,336. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Stock Performance

GIS opened at $66.23 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.47 and a twelve month high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $36.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.94 and its 200-day moving average is $68.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 26.85%. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. On average, analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GIS. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.67.

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.