Lantz Financial LLC Lowers Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Lantz Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 384 shares during the quarter. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.3% in the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $99.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.69. The company has a market capitalization of $204.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.