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

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.69.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GIS. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America reduced their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:GIS opened at $55.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.81. The stock has a market cap of $30.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.05. General Mills has a 1 year low of $52.93 and a 1 year high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Mills will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.