Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 29.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,339 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,551 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 115,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,207,000 after buying an additional 3,696 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 53.7% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the first quarter worth about $222,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 10.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 18.6% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.13.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $110.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 880,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,325. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $112.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.00 and a 200-day moving average of $102.29. The stock has a market cap of $226.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.37 EPS 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.