Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 537 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 782.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $100.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $100.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $204.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.62 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.