Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 3,737 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its stake in Novartis AG by 3.3%, selling 3,737 shares in the first quarter, now holding a total of 109,130 shares valued at approximately $12.17 million.
• Following a recent analysis, Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating with a price target of $123.00.
• Novartis recently reported $2.42 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates and showing 12.3% year-over-year revenue growth.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,130 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,737 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $12,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC grew its position in Novartis by 366.0% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.50.

Novartis Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:NVS traded up $1.0160 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.0260. The stock had a trading volume of 665,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,979,034. The business's 50 day moving average is $118.79 and its 200 day moving average is $113.23. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $125.62. The stock has a market cap of $264.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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.