GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 257.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 6,990 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Novartis by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Novartis by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.3% in the third quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 166,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,113,000 after purchasing an additional 5,369 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $106.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $217.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.32 and a 200 day moving average of $108.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.79% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.34 EPS 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.