Zions Bancorporation N.A. Trims Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 20.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 709 shares of the company’s stock after selling 183 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $82,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 73.5% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued 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. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $103.06 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.41 and a 200 day moving average of $109.79. 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 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during 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 previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current 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.