Tweedy Browne Co LLC Sells 1,173 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Tweedy Browne Co LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,173 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for about 0.4% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $8,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Novartis by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,264,000 after purchasing an additional 54,683 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,082,000 after acquiring an additional 14,686 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,442,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,599,000 after acquiring an additional 33,791 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 931,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 3.6% during the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 845,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,737,000 after acquiring an additional 29,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.13.

Novartis Stock Up 1.3 %

NVS traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $111.90. 823,348 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,461,527. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $112.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $104.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.80. The stock has a market cap of $228.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.