First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 324,410 Shares of Nestle SA $NSRGY

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its stake in Nestlé SA by 26.7%, holding 892,482 shares valued at approximately $90.3 million after selling 324,410 shares during the first quarter.
• Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nestlé's stock from "underperform" to a "hold" rating, with an average price target set at $91.00 according to MarketBeat data.
• Nestlé's stock opened at $94.12, with its one-year range fluctuating between a low of $80.11 and a high of $109.31.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lessened its stake in shares of Nestle SA (OTCMKTS:NSRGY - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 892,482 shares of the company's stock after selling 324,410 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Nestle were worth $90,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nestle by 0.3% in the fourth 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 during the period. Elefante Mark B bought a new stake in shares of Nestle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,527,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nestle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $822,000. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nestle by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nestle by 4.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Nestle Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS NSRGY traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $94.38. 288,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 444,240. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $93.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.58. Nestle SA has a 12 month low of $80.11 and a 12 month high of $109.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Nestle Company Profile

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.