Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,155 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,012 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Novartis by 115.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,797,000 after acquiring an additional 124,111 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Novartis by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after buying an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 135.5% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 22,998 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,986,000 after acquiring an additional 26,317 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NVS. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1 %

NVS opened at $99.93 on Monday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.69. The company has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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.