Gotham Asset Management LLC Purchases 87,400 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Free Report) by 60.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,214 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 87,400 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in General Mills were worth $14,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 23,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,579 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GIS. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.00.

General Mills Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE GIS opened at $54.52 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $58.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.05. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.82 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The firm's revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

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.

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