General Mills, Inc. $GIS Holdings Raised by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in General Mills, Inc. by 45.3% during the first quarter, owning a total of 132,577 shares worth approximately $7.93 million.
• General Mills reported $0.74 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates, though revenue declined 3.3% year-over-year.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.61, representing a 4.9% yield, and maintaining a payout ratio of 59.51%.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 45.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,577 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,312 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in General Mills were worth $7,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in shares of General Mills by 3.5% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,411 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its position in shares of General Mills by 4.6% during the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of General Mills by 0.4% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 52,298 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of General Mills by 0.8% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 24,817 shares of the company's stock worth $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of General Mills by 1.5% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,452 shares of the company's stock worth $804,000 after buying an additional 193 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 analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of General Mills from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $51.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.13.

General Mills Stock Performance

GIS traded up $0.3260 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.1360. 3,871,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,472,722. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.20. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.59 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The stock has a market cap of $27.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. General Mills had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 11.78%.The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. General Mills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.580-3.790 EPS. Analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. This is a positive change from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.51%.

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.