General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $83.00 to $82.00. The stock had previously closed at $65.93, but opened at $63.10. General Mills shares last traded at $64.41, with a volume of 2,702,632 shares.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays increased their target price on General Mills from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 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, September 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America upgraded General Mills from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Pankaj Mn Sharma sold 2,325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $173,514.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,700,411.92. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 9,647 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $717,640.33. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 128,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,571,314.96. This trade represents a 6.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,555 shares of company stock valued at $4,721,336 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in General Mills by 1.1% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,532 shares of the company's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,261 shares of the company's stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 5.0% during the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 3,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in General Mills by 1.9% in the second quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 8,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 1.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,854 shares of the company's stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

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.