Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Novartis AG by 16.6% during the second quarter, currently owning 98,416 shares worth approximately $11.9 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Novartis, including Brighton Jones LLC, which boosted its position by 76.5% during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Novartis, with the stock receiving an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 16.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,416 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,603 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $11,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,524 shares of the company's stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Novartis by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 36,835 shares of the company's stock worth $4,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $131.29 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 $133.55. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $127.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.89. The firm has a market cap of $277.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.

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