Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Price

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price objective cut by Mizuho from $62.00 to $60.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on General Mills from $84.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.76.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $58.31 on Thursday. General Mills has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.37.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares in the company, valued at $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in General Mills by 1.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 130,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,616,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 6.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,907 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 4.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 71,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,254,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 5.3% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 8,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.