First Manhattan CO. LLC. Reduces Stock Holdings in 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. trimmed its holdings in Nestle SA (OTCMKTS:NSRGY - Free Report) by 26.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSRGY. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nestle by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 74,685 shares of the company's stock worth $6,102,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Elefante Mark B purchased a new position in shares of Nestle during the fourth quarter worth about $1,527,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nestle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $822,000. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Nestle Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:NSRGY traded up $1.33 on Thursday, reaching $94.31. 300,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 669,407. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.75 and a 200-day moving average of $99.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.82. Nestle SA has a 1-year low of $80.11 and a 1-year high of $109.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.00.

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.