General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Price Target Cut to $56.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its target price reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $65.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on GIS. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on General Mills from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.50.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $50.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $27.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.48 and a 200 day moving average of $58.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. General Mills has a 12 month low of $50.24 and a 12 month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.60 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 11.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that General Mills will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new position in General Mills during the 1st quarter valued at $1,315,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 7.6% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 584,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,937,000 after purchasing an additional 41,394 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the first quarter valued at $96,000. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 9.7% during the first quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 68,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,119,000 after purchasing an additional 6,107 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 6.9% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by 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.