Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,940 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $138.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $291.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $130.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.31. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.91 and a 1-year high of $140.18.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. HC Wainwright downgraded Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Cfra set a $126.00 price target on shares of Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.