Truist Financial Corp Reduces Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Truist Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 750,405 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,657 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $79,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Ocean LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 73.5% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued 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. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

Novartis Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NVS opened at $114.53 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.17 and its 200 day moving average is $106.30. The company has a market capitalization of $234.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.