Novartis AG $NVS Position Lowered by Arvest Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Arvest Investments Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Novartis AG by 75.6%, now holding 3,793 shares worth $459,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Institutional investors have shown mixed activity, with firms like Dimensional Fund Advisors and Goldman Sachs increasing their holdings, while overall 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts maintain a mixed rating on Novartis, with one Strong Buy, one Buy, four Hold, and three Sell ratings, leading to an average consensus target price of $120.33.

Arvest Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,793 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,762 shares during the quarter. Arvest Investments Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,606,724 shares of the company's stock worth $959,535,000 after acquiring an additional 422,869 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 60.3% during 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 raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 47,690 shares during the last quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 12,664.1% during the 1st quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 1,383,244 shares of the company's stock worth $154,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 1,258,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,313,000 after acquiring an additional 55,316 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:NVS traded down $0.42 on Tuesday, reaching $122.89. The stock had a trading volume of 954,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,031,015. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $121.76 and a 200 day moving average of $115.98. The stock has a market cap of $259.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.63. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $130.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.