SVB Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

SVB Wealth LLC trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 18.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,946 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 73.5% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $110.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 146,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,467,151. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $112.48. The stock has a market cap of $226.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $106.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.31.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.13.

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.