Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 43,263 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,777 shares during the period. 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 and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Catalina Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 2,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,953,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $115.60 on Friday. 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.02. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.