General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.06.

Several brokerages have recently commented on GIS. Bank of America reduced their price objective on General Mills from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $62.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.46 and a 200 day moving average of $66.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Mills will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 37.6% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the period. Optas LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth about $241,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 43,086 shares during the period. 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 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.