Arvest Investments Inc. Sells 2,324 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Arvest Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,535 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,324 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Novartis by 1,029.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 4,333 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Novartis by 30.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 6.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 35,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,430,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 14.5% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $106.45. 1,176,937 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,183,021. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $217.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.70. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.56 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

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.