USS Investment Management Ltd Grows Position in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 222,002 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in General Mills were worth $14,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in General Mills by 1.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,634,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,691,000 after purchasing an additional 19,290 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of General Mills by 105.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,708,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,552,000 after buying an additional 2,926,232 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in General Mills by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 31,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,000,000 after buying an additional 10,176 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in General Mills by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 847 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of General Mills stock opened at $54.78 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.05. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.93 and a 52-week high of $75.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.92.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 11,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,635.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,967,490. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GIS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on General Mills from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of General Mills from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.69.

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.