Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Holdings Increased by First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network grew its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,611 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Novartis were worth $838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $103.09 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVS. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.