iSAM Funds UK Ltd Makes New Investment in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake of 65,941 shares in General Mills (NYSE:GIS) in Q3 valued at about $3.33M, amid large institutional moves such as Norges Bank's $417.5M new position and Diamond Hill's sizable add, leaving 75.71% institutional ownership.
• Analyst sentiment has turned negative with multiple downgrades and price-target cuts (including Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley), and a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" with a $49.11 target.
• General Mills pays a quarterly dividend of $0.61 (annualized $2.44) for a 6.2% yield

iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 65,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,325,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in General Mills in the second quarter worth $417,508,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the second quarter valued at $84,862,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,628,421 shares of the company's stock worth $384,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,913 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,956,665 shares of the company's stock worth $494,548,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,213,506 shares of the company's stock worth $114,682,000 after purchasing an additional 894,633 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,500 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.15, for a total transaction of $72,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,568 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,549.20. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Evercore set a $45.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of General Mills from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on General Mills from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $49.11.

Key General Mills News

Here are the key news stories impacting General Mills this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Named Jonathan Ness as Chief Supply Chain Officer and accelerated removal of certified colors in its K–12 portfolio — a move that could improve execution, margin recovery and brand positioning if cost-savings and premiumization follow. Does General Mills' (GIS) Supply Chain Shift and Cleaner Labels Recast Its Margin Narrative?
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage is digging beyond revenue/EPS to metrics investors care about (gross margin, organic sales, pricing/volume mix, working capital) ahead of the Q3 print. Watch margins and SG&A cadence. Countdown to General Mills (GIS) Q3 Earnings: A Look at Estimates Beyond Revenue and EPS
• Neutral Sentiment: Another analyst preview (Zacks) reiterates the same focus on operational metrics and margin drivers for the quarter — useful guidance but not market-moving by itself. Countdown to General Mills (GIS) Q3 Earnings: A Look at Estimates Beyond Revenue and EPS (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: General market pieces on high-yield names (Fool) do not feature GIS specifically but underscore investor appetite for yield — relevant context given concerns about GIS’s payout ratio. Here Are My Top 3 High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo downgraded General Mills to Underweight, flagging earnings pressure, elevated leverage and a stretched dividend payout ratio — a direct catalyst behind the stock weakness. Wells Fargo downgrades General Mills (GIS)
• Negative Sentiment: Related Wells Fargo note cited across outlets downgrading Conagra, Campbell’s and General Mills for similar profit and payout risks — broad analyst skepticism for the packaged-food group. Wells Fargo downgrades Conagra, Campbell’s and General Mills on profit risks
• Negative Sentiment: Benzinga and other outlets note additional analyst downgrades and a tilt toward bearish coverage on GIS — reinforcing the negative momentum among sell-side shops. This General Mills Analyst Turns Bearish; Here Are Top 5 Downgrades For Thursday
• Negative Sentiment: Peer weakness: Campbell’s reported a weak quarter (sales down, organic sales down), highlighting consumption pressure in the category — negative signal for pricing/volume prospects across packaged foods. Campbell’s posts one of worst quarters in years: revenues fell 5%, organic sales dropped 3%

General Mills Price Performance

General Mills stock opened at $39.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.47 and a beta of -0.05. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.29 and a 52 week high of $62.61. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $44.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 17th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. General Mills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.580-3.790 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.47%.

About General Mills

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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