Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Sells 26,702 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. has decreased its stake in Novartis AG by 5.0%, selling 26,702 shares and now holding a total of 503,638 shares valued at approximately $56.15 million.
• Analysts have given mixed ratings on Novartis, with one firm downgrading its rating from "strong-buy" to "buy," and another upgrading it from "underweight" to "equal weight," setting a target price of $123.00.
• Novartis reported a 12.3% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, totaling $14.05 billion, and beat earnings per share expectations with a reported EPS of $2.42.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 503,638 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,702 shares during the period. Novartis comprises about 1.7% of Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $56,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Novartis by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC grew its position in Novartis by 2.4% in the first quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Novartis by 3.9% in the first quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its stake in Novartis by 3.8% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,828 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 4.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.50.

Novartis Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:NVS traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $126.54. The company had a trading volume of 677,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,223. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $128.03. The business's fifty day moving average is $120.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $267.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.62.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.The firm 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 firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current 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.