Abbot Financial Management Inc. Sells 372 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Abbot Financial Management Inc. lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 372 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for 1.3% of Abbot Financial Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Abbot Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Novartis by 3.1% in the first quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 3,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 0.7% in the first quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.7% during the first quarter. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.5% during the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.7% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.5 %

NVS traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $98.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,382,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 862,687. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $74.09 and a 52 week high of $105.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $208.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $101.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.15. Novartis had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 25.12%. The firm had revenue of $13.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.00.

Novartis Profile

Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.