Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 229,901 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,212 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $26,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in 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 buying an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Novartis by 191.1% in 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 buying an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company's stock worth $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $64,610,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Novartis by 343.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company's stock worth $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company 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 report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NVS stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $103.89. 1,825,518 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,343,461. The business's fifty day moving average is $113.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal 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.