Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on General Mills (NYSE:GIS)

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 11,906 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 44% compared to the typical volume of 8,240 put options.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total value of $342,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 86,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,947,288.54. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $275,827.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 62,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,763.50. The trade was a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 139.8% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $42.44.

General Mills Trading Up 1.4%

GIS stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.45. 10,504,965 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,024,597. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills has a 52-week low of $32.79 and a 52-week high of $55.35. The company has a market cap of $17.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18 and a beta of -0.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.66 and its 200-day moving average is $42.86.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Mills will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

About General Mills

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.