Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 42,642 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,426,926 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,642 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Novartis worth $236,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 2.3% in the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the company's stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Allen Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company's stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 1.1% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in Novartis by 1.3% in the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,913 shares of the company's stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS traded up $2.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $109.42. 2,274,792 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,952,208. The company has a market cap of $223.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $101.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.15. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Novartis

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.