Marotta Asset Management Cuts Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Marotta Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,003 shares of the company’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. Marotta Asset Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Novartis by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,025,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 119.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 29,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,192,000 after acquiring an additional 16,335 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 2.0% in the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Novartis by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 402,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,807,000 after buying an additional 41,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 224,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,201,215. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $101.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.32.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued 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. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.65 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.