Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,626 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,462 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $8,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors increased its holdings in Novartis by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 16,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on NVS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded down $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $154.06. 1,165,455 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,045,955. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $150.86 and its 200-day moving average is $151.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis AG has a one year low of $112.34 and a one year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.