Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 173,556 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 94.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 173,556 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Novartis were worth $944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NVS traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $117.68. 1,072,789 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,587,966. The company's fifty day moving average price is $110.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.36. The company has a market capitalization of $248.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Novartis's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.