Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,727 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,277 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth $15,044,000. Integral Health Asset Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 33.3% in the second quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,938,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $854,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 115.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,797,000 after acquiring an additional 124,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $104.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $111.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.12.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.