Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by CKW Financial Group

CKW Financial Group trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group’s holdings in Novartis were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 115,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,207,000 after purchasing an additional 3,696 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 10,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,025,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $103.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 276,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,842. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $211.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NVS. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus 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.