US Bancorp DE Sells 2,467 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

US Bancorp DE trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,076 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,467 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Novartis were worth $25,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Novartis by 28.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 168,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,302,000 after purchasing an additional 28,620 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth approximately $647,000. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 248,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,050,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter valued at approximately $293,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS traded up $1.21 on Wednesday, reaching $111.74. 723,635 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,458,744. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.06. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $112.48. The firm has a market cap of $228.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The company had revenue of $11.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.50 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.