Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 132 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,512 shares of the company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

Novartis Stock Up 0.6 %

Novartis stock opened at $113.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $116.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $232.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57.

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.