Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,206 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Catalent worth $12,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Catalent in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Catalent during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Catalent by 45.7% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Catalent by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Catalent during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000.

Catalent Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Catalent stock opened at $59.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.51. Catalent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $61.20. The company has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16.

Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.18). Catalent had a negative return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Catalent, Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CTLT. StockNews.com raised shares of Catalent from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Catalent in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Baird R W lowered Catalent from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.50 target price on shares of Catalent in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michelle R. Ryan sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.70, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,835 shares in the company, valued at $646,849.50. This represents a 20.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David Mcerlane sold 1,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.97, for a total transaction of $119,580.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,304 shares in the company, valued at $2,177,150.88. This represents a 5.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,114 shares of company stock worth $305,931 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.31% 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. It operates in two segments, Biologics, and Pharma and Consumer Health. The Biologics segment provides formulation, development, and manufacturing for biologic proteins, cell gene, and other nucleic acid therapies; pDNA, iPSCs, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines; formulation, development, and manufacturing for parenteral dose forms, including vials, prefilled syringes, and cartridges; and analytical development and testing services for large molecules.