General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Here’s Why

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) shares rose 1.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $62.61 and last traded at $62.02. Approximately 1,525,291 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 5,806,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GIS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.69.

General Mills Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently 52.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of General Mills by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 5.9% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Company Profile

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.