Stephens Inc. AR Reduces Stake in General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,807 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,643 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,188,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 65,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,552 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 112.6% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 8,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 82,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 334.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 19,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 15,041 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $33.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18 and a beta of -0.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.76. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.79 and a 12 month high of $55.35.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $342,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,288.54. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $275,827.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 62,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,763.50. The trade was a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GIS. BTIG Research began coverage on General Mills in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on General Mills from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group lowered their price target on General Mills from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Mills from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $42.44.

General Mills 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.