Empire Financial Management Company LLC Reduces Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,374 shares of the company’s stock after selling 454 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.4% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 118.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 4,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,566 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 9,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,078,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $100.14 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $109.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.30. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $204.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

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.