Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 255,169 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 445,689 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255,169 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $61,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 102.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after buying an additional 11,444 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the first quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 48.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $150.91 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $112.34 and a 1 year high of $170.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.36 and a 200-day moving average of $148.51. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $287.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted 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 net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

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.