Transform Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Transform Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 389 shares during the period. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integral Health Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,938,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 115.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,797,000 after buying an additional 124,111 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 343.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after buying an additional 509,567 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 20.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Novartis by 135.5% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $97.51 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.01. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $199.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Novartis 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.