Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Marotta Asset Management

Marotta Asset Management cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Marotta Asset Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.6 %

Novartis stock opened at $113.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.41. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note 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 downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given 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.

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.