Bank of America Lowers General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Price Target to $70.00

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its target price cut by research analysts at Bank of America from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.34% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on GIS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho cut their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued 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 $69.88.

General Mills Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of GIS stock opened at $59.15 on Wednesday. General Mills has a 12 month low of $55.15 and a 12 month high of $75.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.61. The company has a market cap of $32.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.10.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of General Mills by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 479,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,606,000 after buying an additional 22,668 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of General Mills by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,729 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,193,000. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $798,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently 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.