General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $49.67 and last traded at $49.85, with a volume of 836453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GIS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on General Mills from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of General Mills from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $51.00 target price (down from $53.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price target on shares of General Mills and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.73.

General Mills Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion and a P/E ratio of 12.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $53.05 and its 200-day moving average is $57.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. General Mills had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.87%. This is a boost from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. General Mills's payout ratio is presently 59.51%.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 840.9% during the second quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 134,278 shares of the company's stock worth $6,957,000 after purchasing an additional 120,007 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 23,620 shares of the company's stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.2% in the second quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,502 shares of the company's stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sicart Associates LLC acquired a new position in General Mills in the 2nd quarter valued at $361,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Company 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.