Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 32,839 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in Novartis AG by 88.9%, selling 32,839 shares and leaving it with 4,094 shares valued at $456,000, according to the latest SEC filing.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis's rating from "underweight" to "equal weight" with a price target of $123.00, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Novartis recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.42 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, and showed a 12.3% year-over-year revenue growth of $14.05 billion.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 88.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,094 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,839 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $456,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Intergy Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,828 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,795 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.50.

Novartis Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $124.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $124.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $118.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.97.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. Novartis's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current 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.

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