GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Novartis by 115.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,797,000 after buying an additional 124,111 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after buying an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Novartis by 135.5% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 22,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 13.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after acquiring an additional 18,990 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $106.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $217.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.32 and its 200 day moving average is $108.41.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.79% and a net margin of 23.56%. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.34 EPS for the current 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.