StrongBox Wealth LLC Decreases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

StrongBox Wealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. StrongBox Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 280.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.3 %

Novartis stock opened at $99.05 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $101.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.19. The stock has a market cap of $202.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current 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.