General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,420,000 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the January 15th total of 23,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $58.85 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $32.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.10. General Mills has a 12-month low of $57.85 and a 12-month high of $75.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.08%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that General Mills will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,525,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Means Investment CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Carl Stuart Investment Advisor Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on General Mills from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised General Mills from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on General Mills from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.13.

Read Our Latest Research Report on GIS

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.

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