Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 24,185 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,980,850 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,185 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in General Mills were worth $464,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter valued at about $417,508,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,862,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in General Mills by 82.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,415,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546,993 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Mills by 22.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,628,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in General Mills by 67.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,213,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,682,000 after acquiring an additional 894,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

General Mills Stock Down 1.2%

GIS stock opened at $37.04 on Friday. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.01 and a twelve month high of $62.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.38 and its 200-day moving average is $46.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of -0.05.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 59.66%.

General Mills News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting General Mills this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed its buy/overweight stance on GIS (despite trimming its target earlier), signaling continued broker support for the turnaround thesis. Piper Sandler Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on General Mills (GIS)
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital reaffirmed its buy/outperform view on GIS, providing another vote of confidence from a large broker. RBC Capital Keeps Their Buy Rating on General Mills (GIS)
• Positive Sentiment: Diamond Hill Capital’s Mid-Cap strategy disclosed a new position in General Mills in Q4, indicating some institutional accumulation at these levels. Diamond Hill Mid Cap Strategy Initiated a Position in General Mills (GIS) in Q4
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed a hold rating, reflecting a wait-and-see view: management’s recovery plan is being acknowledged but not yet rewarded by all analysts. Jefferies Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on General Mills (GIS)
• Neutral Sentiment: Management highlighted product innovation (more protein/fiber SKUs like Cheerios Protein) and portfolio reshaping (Brazil unit sale) as recovery levers; these are strategic positives but will take time to materially reverse top-line/margin trends. General Mills Bets on Protein and Fiber to Win Back Consumers
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 results missed on EPS and showed an 8.4% YoY revenue decline; analysts flagged a tough consumer environment and lowered near-term forecasts. General Mills’ FQ3 miss highlights tough consumer environment — analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Several brokers slashed price targets and/or lowered ratings after the print: UBS cut its target to $35 and kept a Sell; JPMorgan, UBS, Goldman, TD Cowen and others trimmed targets or moved to underweight/neutral — putting fresh downside risk and pressuring sentiment. General Mills price target lowered to $35 from $40 at UBS
• Negative Sentiment: Investor commentary (including Jim Cramer) and post-earnings notes highlight that management’s messaging and near-term guidance weren’t convincing, amplifying the sell-side cuts and heavy trading. Jim Cramer on General Mills: “Management Tried to Turn Minuses Into Pluses, But the Crowd Wasn’t Buying It”

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GIS. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on General Mills from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $44.61.

General Mills Company Profile

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.