Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC Sells 2,940 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC has reduced its holdings in Novartis AG by 12.2%, selling 2,940 shares to hold a total of 21,155 shares, valued at approximately $2,358,000.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in Novartis by 60.3%, acquiring an additional 1,377,252 shares, while GAMMA Investing LLC made an even larger increase of 14,376.4%.
• Novartis reported a 12.3% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, achieving $14.05 billion and earnings per share of $2.42, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 12.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,155 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,940 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $2,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Novartis by 5.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,606,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $959,535,000 after buying an additional 422,869 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the company's stock worth $408,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377,252 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Novartis by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,180,281 shares of the company's stock worth $243,058,000 after acquiring an additional 47,690 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 1,258,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,313,000 after purchasing an additional 55,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Novartis by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 824,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,901,000 after purchasing an additional 28,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded down $3.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $124.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,861,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 997,220. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.73. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $130.46. The firm has a market cap of $262.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.63. 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 (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, topping 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 company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.