General Mills, Inc. $GIS Stock Position Lessened by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 48.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,308 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,350 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $944,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the third quarter worth $25,000. Close Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the third quarter worth $28,000. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 312.5% in the third quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 211.7% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of GIS stock opened at $33.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.97. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.64 and a fifty-two week high of $55.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,763.50. This trade represents a 11.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total value of $342,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 86,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,947,288.54. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on General Mills from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on General Mills from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on General Mills from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore set a $45.00 target price on General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $41.78.

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.