Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Novartis AG by 6.0%, now holding 402,360 shares valued at $48.69 million after selling 25,558 shares in Q2.
• Despite the decrease in holdings by Mirae Asset, other investors increased their stakes in Novartis, with notable raises from Patriot Financial Group (22.1%) and EWA LLC (7.3%).
• Novartis reported $2.42 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 12.3% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 402,360 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,558 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $48,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 22.1% during the second quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 15,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 7.3% during the second quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $425,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $3,153,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $130.94 on Friday. 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's 50-day moving average price is $123.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.04. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $131.96. The stock has a market cap of $276.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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