Atomi Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,458 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 11.6% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth $242,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Novartis by 31.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 343.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,652,000 after acquiring an additional 509,567 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $99.69 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $203.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on NVS shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.