Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $2.67 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,502 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Novartis by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in Novartis by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 530 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Means Investment CO. Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVS. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.67.

Novartis Trading Down 0.5 %

NVS stock opened at $105.16 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.84. The company has a market capitalization of $214.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.50 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis 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.