Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Nestle SA $NSRGY

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Nestle SA by 79.7%, acquiring an additional 21,036 shares, bringing its total to 47,430 shares valued at approximately $4.79 million by the end of the most recent quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 0.61% of Nestle's stock, with several firms recently making changes to their positions, including notable acquisitions by Ameriflex Group Inc. and Core Alternative Capital.
• Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nestle's rating from "underperform" to "hold", with the stock currently having a consensus price target of $91.00.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Nestle SA (OTCMKTS:NSRGY - Free Report) by 79.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,430 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,036 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Nestle were worth $4,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nestle by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,990 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Nestle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nestle by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 74,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,102,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Core Alternative Capital bought a new position in Nestle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Nestle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 0.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised Nestle from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nestle has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.00.

Nestle Trading Up 4.2%

NSRGY traded up $3.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.77. 1,143,980 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 679,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company's fifty day moving average price is $95.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.12. Nestle SA has a 52-week low of $80.11 and a 52-week high of $109.31.

About Nestle

Nestlé SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and beverage company. The company operates through Zone North America; Zone Europe; Zone Asia, Oceania, and Africa; Zone Latin America; Zone Greater China; Nespresso; and Nestlé Health Science segments. It offers baby foods under the Cerelac, Gerber, Nido, and NaturNes brands; bottled water under the Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier, Vittel, Buxton, Erikli, and S.Pellegrino brands; cereals under the Fitness, Nesquik, cheerios, and Lion Cereals brands; and chocolate and confectionery products under the KitKat, Smarties, Aero, Nestlé Les Recettes de l'Atelier, Milkybar, Baci Perugina, Quality Street, and Fitness brands.