General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Stock Position Lifted by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,606 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,236 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in General Mills were worth $7,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 105.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company's stock worth $421,552,000 after buying an additional 2,926,232 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 12,348 shares of the company's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in General Mills by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 3,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC grew its stake in General Mills by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 52,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,658 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GIS traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $54.48. The company had a trading volume of 3,707,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,518,375. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.39 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $56.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.78.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.69.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by 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.