Delaney Dennis R Sells 10,297 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Delaney Dennis R decreased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 43.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,297 shares during the period. Delaney Dennis R’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Novartis by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Novartis by 1,345.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 7,480 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Novartis by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.3 %

Novartis stock opened at $115.99 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $237.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

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.