General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $61.45 and last traded at $61.51, with a volume of 5390024 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GIS. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on General Mills from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of General Mills from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Mills currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.31.

General Mills Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a market cap of $33.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.79.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 12.14%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 46,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.61, for a total value of $3,190,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 355,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,379,054.08. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,624 shares of company stock worth $3,897,326 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Foundation Advisors boosted its holdings in General Mills by 400.0% in the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in General Mills by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Mills by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% 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.