Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,552 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,447 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Essex LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Essex LLC now owns 2,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, FLC Capital Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $98.36 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $107.95 and its 200-day moving average is $110.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.56. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal 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.