Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Sells 14,852 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 22.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,989 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,852 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $7,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 76.5% in 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 102.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 11,444 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Novartis by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $202,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE NVS opened at $152.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $112.34 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $151.26 and its 200 day moving average is $151.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.