Albert D Mason Inc. Cuts Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Albert D Mason Inc. lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 3,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Novartis by 3.6% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 153,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,294,000 after acquiring an additional 5,285 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $22,979,000. Seven Eight Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 229.8% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 13,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $97.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $100.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.98. The stock has a market cap of $199.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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.