General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Earns Underweight Rating from Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an "underweight" rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 8.23% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on General Mills from $84.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.69.

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General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS traded down $0.42 on Monday, reaching $57.75. The stock had a trading volume of 4,987,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,115,364. General Mills has a twelve month low of $55.15 and a twelve month high of $75.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.95 and a 200 day moving average of $64.93. 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 (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. General Mills's revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that General Mills will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 217,729 shares of the company's stock worth $13,885,000 after acquiring an additional 52,262 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 212,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,565,000 after purchasing an additional 5,070 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth $271,000. Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 14,004 shares of the company's stock worth $893,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 27,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.