Employees Provident Fund Board Takes $7.53 Million Position in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• Employees Provident Fund Board opened a new position in General Mills, buying 162,000 shares worth about $7.53 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 75.71% of General Mills shares. Several other firms also added to their positions during recent quarters.
• Analysts are cautious on GIS: the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $39.39, while the company recently missed earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter.

Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 162,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,533,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smith Moore & CO. increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 8,785 shares of the company's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,153 shares of the company's stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 4,904 shares of the company's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in General Mills by 0.7% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the company's stock worth $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its position in General Mills by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,879 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GIS shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on General Mills from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut General Mills from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on General Mills in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $39.39.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $342,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,947,288.54. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $275,827.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 62,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,148,763.50. This represents a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Mills Stock Down 0.0%

GIS opened at $33.41 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.75 and a 12 month high of $54.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business's 50-day moving average price is $34.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.53. The company has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17 and a beta of -0.03.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The company's revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.42 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.

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