Delaney Dennis R Reduces Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Delaney Dennis R cut its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 22.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,080 shares during the quarter. Delaney Dennis R’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Square Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 77.8% in the first quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC now owns 18,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,285 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 7.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 25,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 15.9% in the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 3.0% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 36,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,533,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 56.1% in the first quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 7,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,598 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.13.

Novartis Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:NVS traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $110.51. 1,997,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,465,404. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.80. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $111.71. The company has a market capitalization of $225.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The company had revenue of $11.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.50 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.28 EPS for the current 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.