Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 4.8% during the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. FLC Capital Advisors increased its stake in Novartis by 4.4% during the third quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 2.3% during the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $99.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $202.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.19. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NVS. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

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.