Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Holdings Decreased by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Novartis AG by 37.3%, selling 2,911 shares and retaining 4,889 shares, valued at $545,000.
• Several institutional investors have made significant moves with Novartis, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which increased its holdings by 14,376.4% to own 727,296 shares worth $81,079,000.
• Analysts have mixed views on Novartis, with BNP Paribas changing its rating to "strong-buy," while the stock maintains a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $123.67.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 37.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,889 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,911 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Tsfg LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 366.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,927,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,958,642. 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 50 day moving average price of $117.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.54. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $124.83. The company has a market cap of $243.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.62.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS 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 business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS 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.