General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Price Target Lowered to $31.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its price target on General Mills from $36 to $31 and kept an underweight rating, implying about 4.8% downside from the current share price.
• General Mills shares were down 1.5% to $32.56, near their 12-month low of $32.43, while the stock still carries a consensus analyst rating of “Reduce” with a target price of $40.06.
• The company recently reported weaker-than-expected earnings of $0.64 per share versus $0.73 expected, with revenue also missing estimates and falling 8.4% year over year.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $36.00 to $31.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective suggests a potential downside of 4.79% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore set a $45.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Zacks Research downgraded General Mills from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Four 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $40.06.

General Mills Stock Down 1.5%

GIS traded down $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.56. 3,925,258 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,035,505. The stock has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.96 and a beta of -0.03. General Mills has a twelve month low of $32.43 and a twelve month high of $55.19. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.56.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for 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%.General Mills's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that General Mills will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,947,288.54. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 62,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,148,763.50. The trade was a 11.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Close Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 139.8% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 578 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

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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