Zevin Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Zevin Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 506 shares during the period. Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $10,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 149.3% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.3 %

NVS opened at $103.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $113.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.01.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

About Novartis

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.