GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 6,607.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,171,705 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,154,235 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.21% of General Mills worth $70,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in General Mills by 105.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $421,552,000 after buying an additional 2,926,232 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in General Mills by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 12,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in shares of 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 position in shares of General Mills by 5.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of GIS traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.62. The company had a trading volume of 4,287,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,513,607. The stock has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.81. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.39 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. General Mills's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.69.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

General Mills Profile

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.