Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its General Mills stake by 45.3% in the first quarter, selling 345,341 shares and leaving it with 417,176 shares valued at about $15.5 million.
• Several other hedge funds adjusted their positions in GIS, and overall institutional ownership remains high at 75.71% of the stock.
• Recent insider activity also leaned negative, with executives Ricardo Fernandez and Jacqueline Williams-Roll both selling shares while analysts kept a cautious view, giving General Mills a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $39.06.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 45.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 417,176 shares of the company's stock after selling 345,341 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.08% of General Mills worth $15,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,188,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in General Mills by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 65,118 shares of the company's stock worth $3,374,000 after buying an additional 2,552 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in General Mills by 112.6% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 8,971 shares of the company's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in General Mills by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 82,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,814 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 334.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 19,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 15,041 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,148,763.50. The trade was a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $342,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 86,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,288.54. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Mills Stock Up 1.8%

GIS opened at $36.04 on Friday. 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 $31.75 and a fifty-two week high of $54.18. The firm's fifty day moving average is $34.12 and its 200 day moving average is $40.13. The stock has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81 and a beta of -0.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GIS shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Mills from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Mizuho cut their price objective on General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $39.06.

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.

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