Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Todd Asset Management LLC

Todd Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 434,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,633 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for approximately 1.2% of Todd Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $59,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,362,000 after acquiring an additional 720,860 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,563,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Novartis by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,035,000 after acquiring an additional 480,201 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 3,309.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,656,000 after acquiring an additional 292,595 shares during the period. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 78.0% in the 3rd quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 606,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,813,000 after acquiring an additional 265,861 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on NVS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $152.14 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $290.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $111.06 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $150.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Novartis

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.