Highland Capital Management LLC Has $1.57 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Novartis by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,797,000 after purchasing an additional 124,111 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,001,000 after buying an additional 5,164 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,598,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,088,000 after buying an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS stock opened at $104.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Company 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.