Holowesko Partners Ltd. Takes $10.21 Million Position in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• Holowesko Partners Ltd. initiated a new stake in General Mills, buying 219,600 shares worth about $10.21 million in the fourth quarter. The position now represents roughly 3.6% of the fund’s portfolio and its 11th-largest holding.
• Institutional ownership of General Mills remains very high, with funds such as State Street, Geode Capital Management, Norges Bank, and others reporting large positions. Overall, 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts are cautious on the stock: several firms cut price targets, and the consensus rating is “Reduce” with a target price of $39.39. General Mills also recently reported quarterly EPS and revenue that missed expectations.

Holowesko Partners Ltd. bought a new position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 219,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,211,000. General Mills makes up about 3.6% of Holowesko Partners Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in General Mills by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,717,972 shares of the company's stock worth $1,700,060,000 after buying an additional 145,701 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,197,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $704,170,000 after purchasing an additional 172,200 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $361,552,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 13.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,664,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,469,000 after purchasing an additional 883,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 22.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,628,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,913 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on GIS shares. Evercore set a $45.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of General Mills from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $39.39.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $275,827.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,283 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $342,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 86,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,947,288.54. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $33.18 on Monday. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.75 and a 52-week high of $55.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11 and a beta of -0.03.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 12.05%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.43 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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