Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 411.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,334 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 184,472 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in General Mills were worth $14,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of GIS stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.14. 3,904,014 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,491,332. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.93 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The company's 50-day moving average price is $57.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $84.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Mills currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.69.

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.