Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Tweedy Browne Co LLC

Key Points

• Tweedy Browne Co LLC reduced its stake in Novartis AG by 4.6% during the second quarter, holding 77,269 shares valued at approximately $9.35 million.
• Novartis has received mixed ratings from analysts, with Goldman Sachs maintaining a "sell" rating and Wall Street Zen upgrading it to a "strong-buy," reflecting varied investor sentiment.
• In its recent earnings report, Novartis exceeded analyst expectations with $2.42 earnings per share and reported a 12.3% year-over-year revenue increase, amounting to $14.05 billion.

Tweedy Browne Co LLC reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,269 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,756 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for about 0.9% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Tweedy Browne Co LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $9,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 366.0% during the 1st 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. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $130.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.37. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $133.55. 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 company has a market capitalization of $275.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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.

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