Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Community Financial Services Group LLC

Community Financial Services Group LLC cut its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 92.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,167 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,785 shares during the quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 107,678 shares of the company's stock worth $10,478,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 40,522 shares of the company's stock worth $3,943,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,143 shares of the company's stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,823 shares of the company's stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NVS opened at $117.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $248.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.66.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. Novartis's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis 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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