Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Holdings in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 634,860 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,731 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of General Mills worth $37,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,475,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in General Mills by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 90,678 shares of the company's stock worth $5,781,000 after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC grew its position in General Mills by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,904 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in General Mills by 411.2% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 229,334 shares of the company's stock worth $14,624,000 after purchasing an additional 184,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $50.01. 5,178,497 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,414,250. The company has a market cap of $27.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of -0.02. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.29 and a 52-week high of $75.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $50.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.36.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.60 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. General Mills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.580-3.790 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of General Mills from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $51.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price target on shares of General Mills and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.13.

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.