Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 456 shares during the quarter. Novartis makes up about 3.6% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 3.4% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.9% during the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 5.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 1.0 %

NVS stock traded down $1.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $115.97. 224,879 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,339,102. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.09. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $120.92. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $237.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

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.