Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,674 shares of the company’s stock after selling 702 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 343.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 10,528.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,511,000 after purchasing an additional 321,121 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $103.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $212.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.23. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis 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.