Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,469,568 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,997 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Novartis worth $284,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased 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 worth $301,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 4.8% in the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NVS stock traded down $0.50 on Friday, hitting $106.58. The stock had a trading volume of 831,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,007. The company has a market cap of $217.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.56 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.