Centennial Bank AR Sells 107 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Centennial Bank AR lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 545 shares of the company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the quarter. Centennial Bank AR’s holdings in Novartis were worth $58,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.4 %

NVS opened at $114.53 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.30. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. 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 issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

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.