Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Mills by 214.1% during the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Mills by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Mills

In other news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total transaction of $50,104.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,706.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen 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 target price of $71.94.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $66.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.74. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $82.59.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. General Mills’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.