Novartis AG $NVS Stock Holdings Lowered by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd has reduced its holdings in Novartis AG by 77.0%, selling 2,522 shares to own only 753 shares valued at $84,000.
• Contrastingly, institutional investors like Goldman Sachs and New Vernon Capital Holdings significantly increased their stakes in Novartis, with Goldman Sachs growing its position by 60.3%.
• Novartis reported an earnings per share of $2.42 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 12.3% year-over-year revenue growth.

Bayforest Capital Ltd lowered its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 77.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 753 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,522 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Novartis were worth $84,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 60.3% during the first 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 during the last quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 12,664.1% during the first quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 1,383,244 shares of the company's stock worth $154,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372,407 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 14,376.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727,296 shares of the company's stock worth $81,079,000 after acquiring an additional 722,272 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Novartis by 5.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,606,724 shares of the company's stock worth $959,535,000 after purchasing an additional 422,869 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter worth about $24,763,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $124.12 on Friday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $130.46. 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 market capitalization of $262.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $121.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.73.

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, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. Novartis's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.33.

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.

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