Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Holdings Trimmed by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC decreased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,879 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,038,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the second quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 78,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 229.8% during the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 13,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $116.00 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.36. The company has a market cap of $237.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

Novartis Profile

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.