Todd Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Todd Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 391,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,157 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $38,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $109.15 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.09.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company 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.