Greenleaf Trust Has $1.61 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Greenleaf Trust has reduced its shares in Novartis AG by 24.5%, now holding 13,314 shares worth approximately $1.61 million as of its latest filing.
• Research firms have mixed ratings for Novartis; Wall Street Zen downgraded it to "buy," while Goldman Sachs issued a "sell" rating with a price target of $118.00.
• Novartis reported quarterly earnings of $2.42 per share, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $14.05 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 12.3%.

Greenleaf Trust trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,314 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,310 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Novartis by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company's stock worth $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Novartis by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,227,000 after buying an additional 9,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth $275,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVS. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.33.

Novartis Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $131.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $277.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.64. 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 $131.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.91.

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

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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