Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $9.96 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 808 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Means Investment CO. Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.5% in the first quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Prio Wealth Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 2,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Down 0.9 %

NVS stock traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.75. 971,819 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,477,968. The stock has a market cap of $220.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $112.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NVS. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

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.