Triasima Portfolio Management inc. Reduces Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. cut its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 57.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,935 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $116.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,151,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,725. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $120.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $112.66 and its 200 day moving average is $104.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share 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.