National Bank of Canada FI Has $5.27 Million Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 63.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 47,471 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,436 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Novartis were worth $5,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Tsfg LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 366.0% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.0%

NVS traded up $0.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $124.27. 664,508 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,984,416. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50-day moving average is $118.67 and its 200 day moving average is $113.10. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $124.83.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The business's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Morgan Stanley upgraded 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.50.

Novartis Company 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.