Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $3.15 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,155 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 280.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $97.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $199.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.61 and its 200 day moving average is $109.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.