YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,523 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,668,000 after acquiring an additional 18,894 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,797,000 after purchasing an additional 124,111 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 13.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 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 analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 1.5 %

Novartis stock opened at $101.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.64.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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.