USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Holdings in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in General Mills, Inc. by 56.7%, selling 125,800 shares during the first quarter and now holds 96,202 shares valued at approximately $5.75 million.
• General Mills recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.74, beating analysts' estimates, although its revenues of $4.56 billion fell short of expectations, showing a 3.3% decline year-over-year.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.61 per share, representing a yield of 4.8% and a payout ratio of 59.51%.

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 56.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,202 shares of the company's stock after selling 125,800 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in General Mills were worth $5,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 69.2% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 516 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 416.7% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of General Mills stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.01. The company had a trading volume of 5,178,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,414,250. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.36. The stock has a market cap of $27.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.29 and a 12-month high of $75.66.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. General Mills had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. General Mills's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. General Mills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.580-3.790 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on GIS shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Bank of America cut their price target on General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut General Mills from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Zacks Research upgraded General Mills from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of General Mills from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.13.

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.