Monte Financial Group LLC Sells 5,879 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Monte Financial Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,583 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,879 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for 2.2% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $31,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank raised its position in Novartis by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Cfra Research upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Cfra set a $126.00 target price on Novartis and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Up 1.6%

Novartis stock opened at $147.27 on Monday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $97.71 and a fifty-two week high of $148.10. The firm has a market cap of $311.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $136.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The firm had revenue of $14.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.