Whittier Trust Co. Sells 883 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 883 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,264,000 after buying an additional 54,683 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,473,000 after purchasing an additional 16,015 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,082,000 after purchasing an additional 14,686 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in shares of Novartis by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 53.7% in the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $120.42. 435,556 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,412,917. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $246.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $120.67.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.44 EPS for the current 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.