Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 5,443 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,443 shares during the period. Novartis makes up about 2.4% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $17,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVS. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 82.4% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $145.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $135.64 and a 200-day moving average of $128.31. The company has a market cap of $306.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.51. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $146.35.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Cfra set a $126.00 target price on Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.