Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,573 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 267,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,374,000 after purchasing an additional 45,408 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,083,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 26,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 55,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $131.34 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $133.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $127.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $277.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

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.