Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Trims Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 52.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,722 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,625 shares during the quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $109.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.07. The company has a market capitalization of $222.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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.