Coleford Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Coleford Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 138,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Novartis comprises about 4.3% of Coleford Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Coleford Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $16,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the first quarter worth $25,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 82.4% during the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cfra Research raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on Novartis and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.33.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $126.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $267.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $133.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $127.30 and a 200-day moving average of $120.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The business had revenue of $13.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis 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.