General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Given New $75.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price target upped by TD Cowen from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on GIS. Argus reissued a hold rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of General Mills from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on General Mills from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $72.73.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS stock opened at $74.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills has a one year low of $60.33 and a one year high of $75.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.63.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that General Mills will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This is an increase from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aveo Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 23,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 6,255 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 286,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,676,000 after purchasing an additional 39,532 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

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 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.