Hickory Asset Management Inc. Sells 117 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Hickory Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.9% during the first quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $119.34 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.09. The firm has a market cap of $252.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.