1832 Asset Management L.P. Reduces Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

1832 Asset Management L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,156 shares of the company’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $242,000. Holderness Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 7.4% in the second quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 9,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 20.8% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Novartis by 5.0% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 9,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.7 %

Novartis stock opened at $115.61 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Novartis Company 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.