Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 209,535 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,385 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Catalent worth $9,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Catalent by 16.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 28,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Catalent by 43.9% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in Catalent by 25.9% during the first quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 12,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 2,494 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in Catalent during the second quarter valued at $11,349,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Catalent by 85.1% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares during the period.

Catalent Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CTLT opened at $39.93 on Tuesday. Catalent, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.45 and a 1 year high of $74.49. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of -7.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.25 and its 200 day moving average is $42.91.

Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 15th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.04. Catalent had a positive return on equity of 1.54% and a negative net margin of 22.36%. The company had revenue of $982.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Catalent’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Catalent, Inc. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CTLT. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Catalent in a research note on Tuesday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Catalent from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Catalent from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Catalent from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Catalent from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John J. Greisch bought 21,000 shares of Catalent stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $50.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,040.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 34,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,708,160. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Alessandro Maselli sold 2,071 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total value of $92,242.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,919,698.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John J. Greisch purchased 21,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $50.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,040.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 34,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,708,160. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,553 shares of company stock worth $158,329. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Catalent Profile

Catalent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures solutions for drugs, protein-based biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products worldwide. The Softgel and Oral Technologies segment provides formulation, development, and manufacturing services for soft capsules for use in a range of customer products, such as prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements, unit-dose cosmetics, and animal health medicinal preparations.