Cambiar Investors LLC Reduces Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cambiar Investors LLC trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,634 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $11,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,986,000 after acquiring an additional 26,317 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Novartis by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after acquiring an additional 123,077 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Novartis by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,554,000 after acquiring an additional 296,890 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 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, five have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $106.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $218.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. 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 fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.39.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS 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%. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.