General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Price Target Raised to $62.00

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price target increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $58.00 to $62.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on GIS. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho reduced their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.24.

General Mills Stock Down 3.7 %

NYSE GIS opened at $60.03 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. General Mills has a 52 week low of $55.15 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.83. The firm has a market cap of $33.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Mills will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. 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 General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,967,490. This represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.