Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 941 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 366.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.4%

NVS stock opened at $131.29 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $127.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.89. The company has a market capitalization of $277.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $133.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.33.

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.