Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Chase Investment Counsel Corp

Chase Investment Counsel Corp trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,599 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,282 shares during the quarter. Novartis makes up 1.9% of Chase Investment Counsel Corp's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Chase Investment Counsel Corp's holdings in Novartis were worth $5,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth about $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Novartis stock traded down $1.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.90. The stock had a trading volume of 851,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,339,033. The firm has a market cap of $212.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $113.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.88.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company 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 issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.