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

CKW Financial Group cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group’s holdings in Novartis were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 156,100.0% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Novartis by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Novartis by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,598,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after buying an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 18.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 0.2 %

NVS stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $103.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 276,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,842. The company has a market capitalization of $211.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of 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 lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.