Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Marotta Asset Management

Marotta Asset Management reduced its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Marotta Asset Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Novartis by 1.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,127,000 after buying an additional 6,767 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 6.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 33.3% in the second 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. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 314.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 55,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,563,000 after buying an additional 41,815 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued 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 report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE NVS opened at $113.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $232.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.35 and a 200-day moving average of $106.41.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued 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. The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.