102,000 Shares in General Mills, Inc. $GIS Acquired by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter, acquiring 102,000 shares valued at about $4.74 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with 75.71% of General Mills’ shares held by institutions and hedge funds. Several large investors also increased their positions recently.
• Wall Street sentiment is cautious: analysts now have a “Reduce” consensus rating on GIS, and the stock has fallen after General Mills reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 102,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,743,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in General Mills by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,717,972 shares of the company's stock worth $1,700,060,000 after acquiring an additional 145,701 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,197,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $704,170,000 after buying an additional 172,200 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,664,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,469,000 after buying an additional 883,150 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,628,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in General Mills by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,585,110 shares of the company's stock worth $281,601,000 after purchasing an additional 16,028 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GIS. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research cut General Mills from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Mills from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $41.78.

Insider Activity

In other General Mills news, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $275,827.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 62,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,763.50. This trade represents a 11.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $342,700.00. Following 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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of GIS stock opened at $33.82 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.64 and a 52-week high of $55.19. The firm's 50-day moving average is $35.22 and its 200-day moving average is $41.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of -0.02.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted 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). General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

General Mills 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GIS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.