Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 2,268 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,520 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,268 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously 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. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NVS opened at $98.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.22.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

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.