General Mills, Inc. $GIS Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,799,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 312,423 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in General Mills were worth $176,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its position in General Mills by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 56,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 4,413 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co grew its position in General Mills by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 5,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in General Mills by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in General Mills by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 759,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,317,000 after purchasing an additional 146,122 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth about $224,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on General Mills in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Mills from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on General Mills from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $42.44.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $275,827.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,763.50. This trade represents a 11.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $342,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,288.54. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $33.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.26 and a beta of -0.02. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.64 and a twelve month high of $55.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.12. 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 (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.