Delaney Dennis R Sells 10,297 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Delaney Dennis R lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 43.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,297 shares during the period. Delaney Dennis R’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Novartis by 191.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after acquiring an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 40.1% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after purchasing an additional 590,830 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,661,000 after purchasing an additional 371,590 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $115.99 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $237.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.03 and its 200 day moving average is $105.28. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis 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.