Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Has $12.28 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 126,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 997 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $12,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $110.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $226.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. 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 fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $102.85 and a 200 day moving average of $107.98.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.