General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Given New $70.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price target decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $77.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock.

GIS has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised General Mills from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and upped their price target for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays upped their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $70.44.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS stock opened at $63.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $35.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.51 and its 200 day moving average is $66.74. General Mills has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.65.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently 54.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Operose Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 214.1% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 409.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.