Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 238,410 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,179,345 shares of the company’s stock after selling 238,410 shares during the period. Novartis makes up about 0.9% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.60% of Novartis worth $1,296,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Novartis by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Novartis by 1,345.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 7,480 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Novartis by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $116.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded 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 note on Wednesday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

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.