Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Reduces Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,818 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,152 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 9.3% in the 1st 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NVS. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

Novartis Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $116.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $239.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 1.73 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.11. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share 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.