Abbrea Capital LLC Cuts Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Abbrea Capital LLC lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,616 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 9.3% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $115.76 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.88. The company has a market capitalization of $236.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57. 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 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

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.