Apollon Wealth Management LLC Sells 494 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 494 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,127,000 after buying an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 180,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,485,000 after purchasing an additional 11,080 shares during the last quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,938,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $854,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $103.41 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $113.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.84. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.