Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,458 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $6,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 15,950.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $152.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.84. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $111.06 and a 12-month high of $170.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $290.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. Novartis’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. DZ Bank downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.