Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Position Decreased by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,466 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,782 shares during the period. Novartis makes up 2.3% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $16,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Novartis by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Novartis by 191.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after acquiring an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,610,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Novartis by 343.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,652,000 after acquiring an additional 509,567 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NVS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $103.09 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. 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 $210.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $112.34 and a 200-day moving average of $110.05.

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