Oxbow Advisors LLC Sells 145 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Oxbow Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Novartis by 191.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,610,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 343.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lowered 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.45. 1,176,937 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,343,586. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $114.56 and a 200-day moving average of $109.62. 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 one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $217.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal 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.