Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 369 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 369 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $116.37 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $237.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.62. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last issued its 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

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.