Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by SevenBridge Financial Group LLC

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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 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 report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $104.28 on Friday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.12. The firm 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 (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current 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.