Delphi Management Inc. MA Sells 1,010 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Delphi Management Inc. MA cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,010 shares during the period. Novartis makes up approximately 1.5% of Delphi Management Inc. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Delphi Management Inc. MA’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $109,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,339,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Novartis by 14,376.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,079,000 after buying an additional 722,272 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Novartis by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,522,000 after acquiring an additional 399,862 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after acquiring an additional 368,171 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $115.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.02 and a 200-day moving average of $106.09. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $244.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.