Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Court Place Advisors LLC

Court Place Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS traded up $0.71 on Friday, hitting $113.84. 104,934 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,328,518. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.39. The stock has a market cap of $232.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

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.