Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 629,441 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105,092 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $40,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Toews Corp ADV purchased a new stake in General Mills during the third quarter worth $781,000. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 272.8% during the third quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 84,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,403,000 after purchasing an additional 61,782 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 37.4% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the third quarter valued at about $858,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in General Mills by 4.2% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 72,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.18.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,899.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $70.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. General Mills, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.33 and a 12-month high of $90.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.68. The company has a market capitalization of $39.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.15.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Company Profile

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.