Mondrian Investment Partners LTD Sells 793,257 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lowered its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 38.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,272,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 793,257 shares during the period. Novartis makes up approximately 2.3% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD owned about 0.06% of Novartis worth $141,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Private Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $115.70 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $236.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $113.91 and its 200-day moving average is $105.21.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion during 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 last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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