Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Freestone Capital Holdings LLC

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its position in Novartis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after acquiring an additional 52,044 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $115.60 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $104.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.02. The company has a market cap of $236.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.