Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Sells 2,861 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,324 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,861 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 128.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,554,000 after acquiring an additional 296,890 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $30,063,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,795,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $113.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $230.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $103.67 and its 200 day moving average is $108.02.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.