Prudential PLC Raises Stake in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• Prudential PLC significantly increased its General Mills stake, boosting holdings by 282.9% in the fourth quarter to 325,282 shares worth about $15.1 million.
• General Mills recently posted weaker-than-expected results, with quarterly EPS of $0.64 versus $0.73 expected and revenue of $4.44 billion, down 8.4% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment has turned cautious, with several analysts cutting targets or ratings and MarketBeat showing a consensus rating of “Reduce” with a $39.39 price target.

Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 282.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 325,282 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 240,329 shares during the period. Prudential PLC owned approximately 0.06% of General Mills worth $15,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 39,030 shares of the company's stock worth $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 17,088 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 5,379 shares of the company's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 86,324 shares of the company's stock worth $4,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth $405,000. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 28,634 shares of the company's stock worth $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 6,367 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $33.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.75 and a 52 week high of $55.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11 and a beta of -0.03.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.09). General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of General Mills from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of General Mills from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $39.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 86,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,288.54. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider owned 62,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,148,763.50. This trade represents a 11.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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