General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

General Mills (NYSE:GIS)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $70.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 14.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.71.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS traded up $1.45 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $61.01. 845,635 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,933,673. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.10 and its 200 day moving average is $65.62. General Mills has a 1-year low of $55.15 and a 1-year high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 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.