Stephens Inc. AR Sells 642 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 642 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Novartis were worth $738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew 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 period. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $109.40 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.37 and a 200 day moving average of $109.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $223.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.