D Orazio & Associates Inc. Reduces Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $106.17 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $100.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal 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.