Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 140,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,121 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises about 3.2% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $16,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1,029.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 4,333 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at $207,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 30.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 6.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 35,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,430,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 14.5% during the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $106.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $114.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.62. The stock has a market cap of $217.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business 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 posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.56 earnings per share 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.