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

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.4444.

GIS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on General Mills from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on General Mills in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $275,827.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 62,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,763.50. This trade represents a 11.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total value of $342,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 86,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,947,288.54. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. boosted its position in General Mills by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 5,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO. boosted its position in General Mills by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 8,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group boosted its position in General Mills by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 4,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of GIS stock opened at $33.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills has a fifty-two week low of $32.64 and a fifty-two week high of $55.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.26 and a beta of -0.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.12.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Mills will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.