Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Decreases Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,881 shares of the company’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Novartis by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,264,000 after buying an additional 54,683 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,473,000 after acquiring an additional 16,015 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,082,000 after purchasing an additional 14,686 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NVS shares. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $118.56 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $118.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.23. The company has a market capitalization of $242.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.44 EPS for the current 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.