Wedbush Securities Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Wedbush Securities Inc. cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 17.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,503 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,052 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 191.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in Novartis by 53.7% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after purchasing an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,661,000 after purchasing an additional 371,590 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,003,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.38.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NVS opened at $117.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $113.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.