Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Has $2.57 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,310 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises 1.6% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $663,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $7,908,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Novartis by 33.0% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 229,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,465,000 after buying an additional 57,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delphi Management Inc. MA lifted its stake in Novartis by 2.4% during the second quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 16,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $114.47 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.36. The company has a market cap of $233.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NVS. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed 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 report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus 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.