PFG Investments LLC Sells 2,635 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

PFG Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 45.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,635 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1,345.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 7,480 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 33,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,997 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $115.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $113.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.88. The firm has a market cap of $236.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

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.