Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys 17,874 Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 261.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,723 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,874 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GIS. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,634,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,691,000 after purchasing an additional 19,290 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 105.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,926,232 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 342,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,858,000 after purchasing an additional 120,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,676,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GIS shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.69.

General Mills Trading Up 1.4%

GIS opened at $55.14 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.81. The company has a market capitalization of $30.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.05. General Mills, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.93 and a 52 week high of $75.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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.