General Mills Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GIS)

Key Points

• General Mills saw unusual options activity on Monday, with investors buying 12,836 call options — about 40% above the typical volume of 9,189.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.95 EPS versus $0.80 expected and revenue of $4.61 billion, while reaffirming FY 2027 EPS guidance of 3.00 to 3.20.
• Shares fell to $35.95 during trading, and analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $39.16.

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 12,836 call options on the company. This is an increase of 40% compared to the typical volume of 9,189 call options.

General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $35.95. The stock had a trading volume of 5,131,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,502,486. General Mills has a 1 year low of $31.75 and a 1 year high of $53.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.75. The company has a market capitalization of $19.19 billion, a PE ratio of -199.35 and a beta of -0.03.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.15. General Mills had a negative net margin of 0.48% and a positive return on equity of 21.37%. The firm had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. General Mills has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.000-3.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Mills will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,355.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $275,827.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,763.50. This represents a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total value of $342,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 86,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,288.54. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smith Moore & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 8,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,153 shares of the company's stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 4,904 shares of the company's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,879 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GIS. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Mills from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of General Mills from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of General Mills from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $39.16.

General Mills Company Profile

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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