Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV Cuts Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 187 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Novartis by 782.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $99.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.19.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVS. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Company 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.