Valley National Advisers Inc. Sells 6,957 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Valley National Advisers Inc. cut its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,957 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Novartis by 191.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 53.7% in the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 40.1% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after purchasing an additional 590,830 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut 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 research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $113.79 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.74. The company has a market cap of $232.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

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.