MGO One Seven LLC Reduces Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Points

• MGO One Seven LLC decreased its stake in Novartis AG by 15.9% during Q1, owning 23,307 shares after selling 4,403 shares.
• Novartis reported a Q2 EPS of $2.42, exceeding analysts' estimate of $2.38, and showed a 12.3% year-over-year revenue growth with $14.05 billion in revenue.
• BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating, contributing to a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $123.67.

MGO One Seven LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 15.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,307 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,403 shares during the quarter. MGO One Seven LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $2,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company's stock worth $41,176,000 after acquiring an additional 111,066 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Novartis by 9.0% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13,721 shares of the company's stock worth $1,335,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Novartis by 76.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Novartis by 11.1% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $115.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,927,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,958,642. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $124.83.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.67.

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.