General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Hits New 1-Year High at $74.54

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GIS. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on General Mills in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.71.

General Mills Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.73. The firm has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.09. 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 (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 26.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.68%.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 66.3% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 769.2% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 65.5% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 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.