Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Holdings Trimmed by RFG Advisory LLC

RFG Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,617 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,350 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 782.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note 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 lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $99.93 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $100.09 and its 200-day moving average is $108.69. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-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. The company has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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.