Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 3,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $195,000. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 3.5 %

NVS stock opened at $111.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $227.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $104.66 and its 200 day moving average is $107.82. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 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.