Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on General Mills (NYSE:GIS)

Investment analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of General Mills (NYSE:GIS) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential downside of 9.84% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup reduced their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on General Mills from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on General Mills from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.69.

General Mills Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:GIS opened at $58.78 on Monday. General Mills has a 12-month low of $55.15 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.17. The firm has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.06.

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

Insider Transactions at General Mills

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in General Mills by 6.9% during 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. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the third quarter worth $240,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of General Mills by 9.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 261,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,309,000 after purchasing an additional 22,337 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 9.2% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in General Mills by 16.1% during the third quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 13,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the period. 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.