World Investment Advisors Reduces Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

World Investment Advisors lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,995 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Novartis were worth $6,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 425.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1%

NVS stock opened at $159.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $112.34 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.84 and a 200 day moving average of $150.42.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NVS. Weiss Ratings lowered Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

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.