J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 930 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on 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 upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $107.06 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.16. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.44 EPS for the current 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.