Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. Cuts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,084 shares of the company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $105.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.23.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

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.