General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.12 EPS

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12, RTT News reports. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year.

General Mills Trading Up 1.1 %

General Mills stock traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.51. 1,584,895 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,223,326. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.71. General Mills has a 12-month low of $60.33 and a 12-month high of $90.89. The firm has a market cap of $39.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on General Mills from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.50.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other General Mills news, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total value of $3,870,008.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GIS. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Mills by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in General Mills by 2.1% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,955,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in General Mills by 2.3% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,935,000 after buying an additional 6,176 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in General Mills by 15.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.31% 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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.