Novartis AG $NVS Stock Holdings Lessened by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 89.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87,109 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 93.0% during the 1st quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 425.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $156.18 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $112.34 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The firm has a market cap of $298.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.56% and a net margin of 23.29%.The firm had revenue of $14.95 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

About Novartis

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.