Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases 64,800 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in General Mills by 27.2% in Q4, buying 64,800 shares to hold 303,272 shares (about 0.06% of the company) valued at $14.1M.
• Analyst sentiment has weakened — the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $43.22 after multiple cuts, while the stock trades around $34.42, near its one‑year low.
• General Mills recently missed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.64 EPS vs. $0.73 expected and revenue down 8.4% year‑over‑year, with a P/E of 8.42 and debt/equity of 1.17.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303,272 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,800 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co owned about 0.06% of General Mills worth $14,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 1,094.4% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 645 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of General Mills from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $43.22.

General Mills Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:GIS opened at $34.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of -0.02. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.04 and a 1-year high of $55.46. The company's fifty day moving average price is $38.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 12.05%.The firm's revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

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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