Managed Asset Portfolios LLC Sells 51,451 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Managed Asset Portfolios LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 21.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 193,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,451 shares during the quarter. Novartis makes up approximately 3.1% of Managed Asset Portfolios LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $22,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 3.4% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 5.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $104.28 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.87 and a 200 day moving average of $110.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $213.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal 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.