Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 249 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 651 shares of the company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,127,000 after buying an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 11,080 shares in the last quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 33.3% in the second quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,938,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Novartis by 314.8% during 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 in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS opened at $113.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently 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.