Garland Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Garland Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 15.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,195 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,815 shares during the quarter. Novartis makes up approximately 3.7% of Garland Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Garland Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Novartis by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,473,000 after buying an additional 16,015 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company's stock worth $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company's stock worth $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:NVS traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $109.31. 596,260 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,343,797. 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 company has a market capitalization of $223.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.47. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.56 EPS for the current year.

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.