C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Sells 661 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 661 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors’ holdings in Novartis were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after buying an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in Novartis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after buying an additional 52,044 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Novartis by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,986,000 after buying an additional 26,317 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Novartis by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $107.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NVS. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.