Woodline Partners LP Boosts Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 78.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 362,517 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 158,976 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in General Mills were worth $23,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in General Mills by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,630,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,376,573,000 after buying an additional 1,868,508 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,488,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after acquiring an additional 136,895 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,123,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $581,903,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341,137 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,061,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $496,484,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $54.78 on Wednesday. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.93 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $30.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.05.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at $22,967,490. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Mills has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.69.

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.