General Mills Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:GIS)

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 10,604 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 141% compared to the average daily volume of 4,398 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.88.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Mills by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,604 shares of the company's stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,525,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in General Mills by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Means Investment CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Carl Stuart Investment Advisor Inc. purchased a new stake in General Mills in the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

General Mills stock traded up $1.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.02. The company had a trading volume of 5,218,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,476,379. General Mills has a 1 year low of $55.15 and a 1 year high of $75.90. The company has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $60.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

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.