Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $3.20 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,090 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Novartis Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NVS opened at $100.00 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.57. 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 fifty day moving average of $100.22 and a 200-day moving average of $108.81.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company 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 company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company 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.