Everett Harris & Co. CA Trims Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Everett Harris & Co. CA cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,363 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,450 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $130.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $133.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $127.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $13.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.33.

About Novartis

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.