Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 78.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,429 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Novartis were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,767 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 6.5% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 180,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,485,000 after purchasing an additional 11,080 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Novartis by 314.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 55,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,563,000 after purchasing an additional 41,815 shares during the period. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC grew its position in Novartis by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,938,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of 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 firm 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.55 and its 200-day moving average is $105.80.

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. Equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.