Novartis AG $NVS Position Cut by NTV Asset Management LLC

NTV Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. NTV Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Tsfg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 366.0% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Novartis Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NVS opened at $132.41 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $133.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.Novartis’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current 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.