Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,046 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Novartis by 4.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 344,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,676,000 after acquiring an additional 13,486 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 5.8% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 6.1% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 7.2% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 2,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 22.1% in the third quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $105.43 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $100.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.27. The company has a market cap of $215.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVS. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.