Employees Retirement System of Texas Has $312,000 Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 78.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,429 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Novartis were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 0.9% in the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 5.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company's stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Novartis to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.70.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $116.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,375,845. The stock has a market cap of $237.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 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 AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.87.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

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.