Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Liberty One Investment Management LLC

Liberty One Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,448 shares of the company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Novartis by 782.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NVS opened at $97.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.99. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 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.