Auto Owners Insurance Co Has $713,000 Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Auto Owners Insurance Co lowered its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 85.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,393 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,750 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co's holdings in Novartis were worth $713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 366.0% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $117.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $124.83. The company's fifty day moving average is $116.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.67.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.