General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Hits New 12-Month High at $74.54

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $74.54 and last traded at $74.51, with a volume of 672141 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on General Mills in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on General Mills from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup decreased their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Mills presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.56.

General Mills Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.85. The company has a market cap of $41.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.68%.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GIS. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 1,833 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at about $829,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 4,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.