Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Hemenway Trust Co LLC

Hemenway Trust Co LLC decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 77.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,731 shares during the quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,661,000 after acquiring an additional 371,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $32,003,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on NVS shares. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.7 %

NVS traded up $0.87 on Friday, reaching $117.36. 275,943 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,402,289. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $112.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.40. The company has a market cap of $239.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.