Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Price

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $61.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.02% from the stock's current price.

GIS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of General Mills from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.88.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE GIS traded up $1.83 on Wednesday, reaching $61.02. The company had a trading volume of 5,107,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,609,214. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $61.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.61. General Mills has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. General Mills'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 firm posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.