Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. Reduces Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,221 shares of the company’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Novartis by 782.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $99.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $203.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.94. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.