Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 18.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 69,062 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,069 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $8,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 185,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,691,000 after purchasing an additional 20,161 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Novartis by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,690,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Novartis by 9.1% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $130.17 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $134.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.52.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The business had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, October 27th. Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on shares of Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered shares of Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.33.

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.