Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Kennon Green & Company LLC

Kennon Green & Company LLC trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,191 shares of the company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVS. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $109.42 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 $101.24 and a 200 day moving average of $108.15. The company has a market capitalization of $223.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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.