Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,555 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,116 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,555 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $104.87 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $110.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.16. The stock has a market cap of $214.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share 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.