Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) is John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,466 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,782 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises approximately 2.3% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $16,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 28.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth $400,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth $604,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 18.6% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $103.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.05. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $210.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its 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. The business 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 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.