Brady Family Wealth LLC Trims Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Brady Family Wealth LLC cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,831 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Novartis by 343.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $22,979,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novartis Stock Down 0.3 %

NVS stock opened at $99.05 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS 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.