Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,614 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $6,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Private Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 73.5% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $115.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $113.58 and its 200-day moving average is $105.00. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.