Novartis AG $NVS Stock Position Lowered by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,532,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 276,369 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Novartis worth $234,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its stake in Novartis by 425.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $150.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Novartis AG has a one year low of $112.34 and a one year high of $170.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $151.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.40. The company has a market capitalization of $287.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Weiss Ratings cut Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

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.