D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 487,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,942 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $56,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $103.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $211.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.60 and a 200-day moving average of $110.22.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

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.