Vise Technologies Inc. Acquires 17,088 Shares of General Mills, Inc. $GIS

Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 77.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 39,030 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,088 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 5,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in General Mills by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 86,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $405,000. Intellectus Partners LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 28,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 6,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter worth $494,000. Institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of General Mills from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $39.39.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Jacqueline Williams-Roll sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $342,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 86,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,947,288.54. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ricardo Fernandez sold 7,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $275,827.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 62,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,763.50. This trade represents a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $33.18 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.81 and its 200 day moving average is $41.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11 and a beta of -0.03. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.75 and a fifty-two week high of $55.19.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 12.05%.General Mills’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

About General Mills

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.