Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,039 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,369 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 0.7% in the second quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 188,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after buying an additional 3,466 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 290,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,885,000 after buying an additional 31,180 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 76.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 4,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $116.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $113.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

About Novartis

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.