Quantbot Technologies LP Has $1.42 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP significantly reduced its stake in Novartis AG, selling 62,115 shares and retaining only 12,756 shares, representing an 83.0% decline in ownership.
• In the most recent earnings report, Novartis reported earnings per share of $2.42, which exceeded analysts' expectations by $0.04, and a revenue of $14.05 billion, up 12.3% year-over-year.
• Analysts' ratings for Novartis include a mix of one Strong Buy, one Buy, seven Hold, and two Sell ratings, with a consensus target price of $123.50.

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 83.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,756 shares of the company's stock after selling 62,115 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Novartis by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,586 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Novartis by 10,877.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,197 shares of the company's stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Novartis by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 221,396 shares of the company's stock worth $21,545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.50.

Novartis Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 461,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,819. The stock has a market cap of $267.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.62. 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 one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $128.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $119.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.00.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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.