Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 229,901 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,212 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $26,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.8% in the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.67. 122,499 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,335,720. The company has a market cap of $211.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $114.25 and its 200 day moving average is $109.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.56 EPS for the current year.

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.