Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GIS. Operose Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 409.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GIS traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $69.10. 3,083,382 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,020,317. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $39.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.41. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $85.84.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,706.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Mills news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 93,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of General Mills from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.06.

General Mills Company 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.