AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC Sells 100 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,288 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,001,000 after acquiring an additional 5,164 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 22,998 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 13.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $108.91 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.36 and a 200-day moving average of $108.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $222.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NVS. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

About Novartis

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.