Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 18.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,483 shares of the company’s stock after selling 562 shares during the quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Novartis by 191.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 343.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after acquiring an additional 509,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 10,528.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,511,000 after acquiring an additional 321,121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE NVS opened at $104.28 on Friday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $213.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.