O Brien Greene & Co. Inc Reduces Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

O Brien Greene & Co. Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $101.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

About Novartis

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.