ING Groep NV Buys Shares of 71,314 General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• ING Groep NV bought a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter, acquiring 71,314 shares valued at about $3.3 million.
• General Mills recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.64, missing estimates, while revenue of $4.44 billion also came in below expectations and fell 8.4% from a year earlier.
• Wall Street sentiment is cautious: several firms cut price targets, and the stock now carries an average analyst rating of "Reduce" with a target price of $39.39.

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 71,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,316,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in General Mills in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,188,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in General Mills by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 65,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,552 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew 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 valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of General Mills by 4.9% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 82,037 shares of the company's stock worth $4,250,000 after buying an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its position in shares of General Mills by 334.2% during the second quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 19,542 shares of the company's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 15,041 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS stock opened at $33.13 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10 and a beta of -0.03. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.75 and a fifty-two week high of $55.19.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GIS. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on General Mills from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on General Mills from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on General Mills from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on General Mills from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $39.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $275,827.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,148,763.50. This represents a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,947,288.54. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

General Mills Company 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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