Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,898 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,865 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $13,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 628,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,628,370. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $100.07 and a 200 day moving average of $108.57. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.62 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.