Naples Global Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Naples Global Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 775 shares during the quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $117.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.36. The stock has a market cap of $247.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company 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.