General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Sets New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• General Mills' stock reached a new 52-week low, trading as low as $48.09 with an increased trading volume of 388,236 shares.
• Analysts have adjusted their ratings and price targets for General Mills, with Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock from "buy" to "neutral" and setting a new price objective of $58.00.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.61, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.9% and a payout ratio of 59.51%.

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $48.09 and last traded at $48.85, with a volume of 388236 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Mills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 target price on shares of General Mills and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.80.

General Mills Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company's 50-day moving average is $49.80 and its 200 day moving average is $53.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. General Mills had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from General Mills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. General Mills's payout ratio is presently 59.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in General Mills by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,346,225 shares of the company's stock worth $3,592,828,000 after acquiring an additional 581,045 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in General Mills by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,572,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,739,379,000 after purchasing an additional 250,113 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,307,064 shares of the company's stock worth $1,000,299,000 after acquiring an additional 265,870 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,173,940 shares of the company's stock worth $786,954,000 after acquiring an additional 170,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,864,819 shares of the company's stock worth $589,814,000 after acquiring an additional 741,432 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About General Mills

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.