Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 903 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for about 1.8% of Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $11,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.9% in the second quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 5.8% during the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its position in Novartis by 1.7% during the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.33.

Novartis Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:NVS opened at $132.41 on Monday. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $133.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $123.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.24. The company has a market capitalization of $279.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.