AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 38,162 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in General Mills by 230.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 38,162 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 54,728 shares worth about $2.55 million.
• General Mills continues to see significant institutional ownership and activity, with hedge funds and other investors adjusting positions and owning about 75.71% of the company’s stock.
• The company recently reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts remain cautious with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $42.44.

AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 230.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,728 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,162 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in General Mills were worth $2,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GIS. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter worth about $84,862,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,415,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546,993 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,383,913 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,033,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,551,000 after acquiring an additional 986,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,664,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,469,000 after acquiring an additional 883,150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

General Mills stock opened at $33.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.56. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.64 and a fifty-two week high of $55.19. The company has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11 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 the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The business's revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $275,827.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,148,763.50. This trade represents a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,947,288.54. The trade was 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore set a $45.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report 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. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on General Mills from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $42.44.

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.

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