Atria Investments Inc Trims Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Atria Investments Inc reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,263 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,777 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $115.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.02. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $236.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current 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.