Eagle Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,267 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 149.3% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $103.54 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.22. The stock has a market cap of $211.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58.

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

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.