Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Lowers Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,343 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 128.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 15.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $19,795,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth about $21,078,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $109.42 on Friday. 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.13. The company has a market cap of $223.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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.