General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $70.00 to $82.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GIS. Argus reiterated a hold rating on shares of General Mills in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $72.73.

General Mills Stock Performance

GIS stock opened at $74.51 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.57. The company has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 18th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business posted $1.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This is a boost from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Clifford Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in General Mills by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 217,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,735,000 after buying an additional 38,204 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the second quarter worth $559,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills during the second quarter worth $3,202,000. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL boosted its position in General Mills by 1.9% during the second quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 13,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in General Mills by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 132,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. 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 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.