General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Price Target Cut to $67.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

GIS has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays upped their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised General Mills from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $70.72.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $63.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.12. General Mills has a 1-year low of $60.33 and a 1-year high of $78.88. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $68.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.79.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 12.66%. General Mills’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.13%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction 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 directly 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GIS. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 214.1% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 409.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% 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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.