General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Stake Decreased by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,733 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,913 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in General Mills were worth $6,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GIS. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,634,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,691,000 after purchasing an additional 19,290 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in General Mills by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 108,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,011,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at about $403,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in General Mills by 138.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 37,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,768,000 after acquiring an additional 21,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in General Mills by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,095,000 after acquiring an additional 4,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.00.

General Mills Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of General Mills stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $55.69. 1,568,743 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,394,598. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $30.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.15. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.