Veracity Capital LLC Sells 132 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Veracity Capital LLC lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after acquiring an additional 231,851 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $24,096,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $21,078,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth $19,878,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $100.00 on Friday. 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 AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.22 and a 200 day moving average of $108.81. The firm has a market cap of $204.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis 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.