Morningstar Investment Services LLC Cuts Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 47.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,739 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Novartis by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 17,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the first quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 22,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,548,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $1,072,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 69.8% in the first quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 4,160 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $114.23 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $124.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.43. The company has a market capitalization of $241.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.09% and a net margin of 25.64%. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.67.

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.