Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,559 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises approximately 1.7% of Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 2.6 %

NVS stock opened at $106.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $218.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.79%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

About Novartis

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.