Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Novartis by 191.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after acquiring an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in Novartis by 40.1% during the first 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.70.

Novartis Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:NVS traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.79. The stock had a trading volume of 904,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,332,378. The company has a market cap of $232.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.42. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $120.92. 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 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.