General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.1111.

GIS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on General Mills from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on General Mills from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on General Mills from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $63.00 price objective on shares of General Mills and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th.

General Mills News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting General Mills this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Named Jonathan Ness as Chief Supply Chain Officer and accelerated removal of certified colors in its K–12 portfolio — a move that could improve execution, margin recovery and brand positioning if cost-savings and premiumization follow. Does General Mills’ (GIS) Supply Chain Shift and Cleaner Labels Recast Its Margin Narrative?
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage is digging beyond revenue/EPS to metrics investors care about (gross margin, organic sales, pricing/volume mix, working capital) ahead of the Q3 print. Watch margins and SG&A cadence. Countdown to General Mills (GIS) Q3 Earnings: A Look at Estimates Beyond Revenue and EPS
• Neutral Sentiment: Another analyst preview (Zacks) reiterates the same focus on operational metrics and margin drivers for the quarter — useful guidance but not market-moving by itself. Countdown to General Mills (GIS) Q3 Earnings: A Look at Estimates Beyond Revenue and EPS (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: General market pieces on high-yield names (Fool) do not feature GIS specifically but underscore investor appetite for yield — relevant context given concerns about GIS’s payout ratio. Here Are My Top 3 High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo downgraded General Mills to Underweight, flagging earnings pressure, elevated leverage and a stretched dividend payout ratio — a direct catalyst behind the stock weakness. Wells Fargo downgrades General Mills (GIS)
• Negative Sentiment: Related Wells Fargo note cited across outlets downgrading Conagra, Campbell’s and General Mills for similar profit and payout risks — broad analyst skepticism for the packaged-food group. Wells Fargo downgrades Conagra, Campbell’s and General Mills on profit risks
• Negative Sentiment: Benzinga and other outlets note additional analyst downgrades and a tilt toward bearish coverage on GIS — reinforcing the negative momentum among sell-side shops. This General Mills Analyst Turns Bearish; Here Are Top 5 Downgrades For Thursday
• Negative Sentiment: Peer weakness: Campbell’s reported a weak quarter (sales down, organic sales down), highlighting consumption pressure in the category — negative signal for pricing/volume prospects across packaged foods. Campbell’s posts one of worst quarters in years: revenues fell 5%, organic sales dropped 3%

General Mills Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $39.38 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.98 and its 200 day moving average is $47.03. The company has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of -0.05. General Mills has a twelve month low of $39.29 and a twelve month high of $62.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 17th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.07. General Mills had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. General Mills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.580-3.790 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that General Mills will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.47%.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.15, for a total value of $72,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,549.20. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its stake in General Mills by 255.8% during the 3rd quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 59,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after acquiring an additional 42,986 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the second quarter valued at approximately $417,508,000. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 7.7% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 346,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,445,000 after purchasing an additional 24,688 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 161.9% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 333,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,800,000 after purchasing an additional 205,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 22.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,628,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,913 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Company Profile

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.