Optas LLC Decreases Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Optas LLC decreased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,006 shares of the company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 13.1% in the first quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its position in Novartis by 2.1% in the first quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Novartis by 3.0% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Novartis by 21.4% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.67.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $106.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,516,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,321,776. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $102.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The company had revenue of $11.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.50 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.27 EPS for the current 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.