General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.18.

Several analysts have recently commented on GIS shares. Citigroup began coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. HSBC raised their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st.

General Mills Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $68.51 on Friday. General Mills has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $90.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.22. The stock has a market cap of $38.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.15.

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

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total transaction of $492,094.65. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total transaction of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,057,820 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Mills by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company increased its position in shares of General Mills by 2.6% during the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 6,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Traverso Chambers Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TrueWealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Mills by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.