Sivia Capital Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Sivia Capital Partners LLC decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,303 shares of the company’s stock after selling 601 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after buying an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Novartis by 343.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after acquiring an additional 509,567 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 10,528.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,511,000 after purchasing an additional 321,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter valued at about $30,063,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $99.10. 1,128,822 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,359,359. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $101.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $202.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

About Novartis

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.