Arlington Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Arlington Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,152 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,404 shares during the period. Arlington Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Novartis by 18.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Novartis by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $106.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $217.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.32 and its 200 day moving average is $108.40.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.