XML Financial LLC Has $985,000 Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

XML Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,248 shares of the company’s stock after selling 427 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Private Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NVS traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $117.62. 711,792 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,212. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $117.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.03.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.13.

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.