Caprock Group LLC Cuts Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Caprock Group LLC lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,904 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Novartis by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Novartis by 191.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $64,610,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 343.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after buying an additional 509,567 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $103.27 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.58 and its 200 day moving average is $110.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $211.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve 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 the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated 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 downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.