Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 601,912 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,868 shares during the period. Novartis comprises 3.8% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $82,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 16,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE:NVS opened at $153.96 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $112.34 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $293.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Company Profile

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.