National Bank of Canada FI Has $13.44 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,898 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,102 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Novartis were worth $13,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded down $0.96 on Wednesday, reaching $99.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,024,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,328,736. The firm's 50-day moving average is $108.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC lowered Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis 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.