Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Position Cut by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 318,018 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,395 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp's holdings in Novartis were worth $36,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Novartis by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company's stock worth $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth $64,610,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Novartis by 343.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company's stock worth $70,652,000 after buying an additional 509,567 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded down $1.03 on Wednesday, hitting $103.89. 1,825,518 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,343,461. The company has a market capitalization of $212.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.58. The company's fifty day moving average is $113.98 and its 200 day moving average is $109.88. 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 AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.