Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Holdings Decreased by Jeppson Wealth Management LLC

Jeppson Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,078 shares of the company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 15.7% in 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. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth approximately $24,096,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,078,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $19,878,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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 reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $103.37 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.09 and its 200-day simple 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 firm has a market cap of $211.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.