Todd Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Todd Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 434,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,633 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises approximately 1.2% of Todd Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $59,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NVS opened at $152.14 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.99. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $111.06 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $290.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company 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.